assistant to vice president dick cheney, gives an update on the state of telemedicine. we will take your calls so you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. washington journal is next. host: the american job losses reported yesterday by the bureau of labor statistics were the worst since 2009, marking an end to the 113 month stretch of u.s. drop both -- job growth. lost --00 jobs were 1,000 jobsobs -- 70 were lost. we will discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on your job, and here is how to be part

of the discussion. if you were recently unemployed, laid off, or furloughed, that line is (202) 748-8000. if you are currently employed, (202) 748-8001. if you are a business owner, that line is (202) 748-8002. we would really like to hear how this is affecting our business. for all others, the line is (202) 748-8003. make sure to text us, including her name, where you are texting from. on twitter, we are at @cspanwj, and on facebook we will look for your posts as well, facebook.com/cspan. this is the headline in the washington post this morning, jobless rates spike to 4.4% as democrats and trump began to scramble for a new spending and stimulus. workers, thee for worst is yet to come. by midyear, the nation will likely be suffering its highest unemployment rate in nearly 40 years and possibly the worst since the great depression.

bank of america says the jobless rate will hit 15.6%. ,oldman sachs pegs it at 15% while the nonpartisan congressional budget office estimates 12% for the second quarter. you can read more about that at washingtonpost.com. we are joined this morning by heather long, an economics correspondent for the washington ont, and back on with us washington journal primetime. the jobless rate in march, is this a surprise to anyone? guest: absolutely not. as a matter of fact, it really does not tell the whole story. if you have been reading the headlines in the last few days, people are wondering how it is the unemployment rate only at 4.4%. what we saw in the last two weeks of march were close to 20 million people -- 10 million

people getting laid off and filing initial unemployment claims, where you go to your state office and try to fill out the application on the website. in two weeks, we have basically wiped out nearly five years of job gains in this country. that is how phenomenal those numbers were and shocking, and very high. think that the real unemployment rate right now is about 10%, some say a little higher than that. so that is that number that we haven't seen since the great recession. thathe reason that unemployment rate wasn't higher, the official unemployment rate wasn't higher in march is simply a matter of the data collection. that data is collected on march 12. march 12 was before the president declared a national emergency, and it was a few days before the president said that you could not have more than 10

people gather at once. as soon as that announcement came out on march 16, that is when you started to see the mass closures of restaurants and bars and jim's and bakeries -- and gyms and bakeries, and the number of people losing their jobs. what does friday's statistic for the unemployment rate for march, and the filing claims, the initial filing claims, almost 10 million americans filing for unemployment -- what do they tell us about where those jobs are being lost? did shockt probably people the most, when we saw on thursday and friday, everybody be bigat there would layoffs in the hospitality sector, hotels, restaurants, and these types of establishments. but when you look at the data that came out, what you were seeing is just how this coronavirus recession is hitting

nearly every sector of the economy, even health care has job losses. you would think --, everybody is gosh, everybody is going to the hospital, but these special teams, orthopedic stilln type offices are losing jobs. across the economy, ,anufacturing was losing jobs even the transportation sector was reporting some job loss. again, we think there are so many people ordering these goods online, there must be more trucks on the road, but these industries are being impacted. it shows you how you are having a chain effect across the economy. host: specifically on unemployment, the $2 trillion package passed a week ago i congress. how much money is in there for what duration? so there is two key

parts. one, you are trying to get the money out as fast as possible. another issue is that the money is just now getting out the door , so friday started the loans -- friday started, the loans began. you can go to bank of america or your community bank apply for a small business administration loan. that process is just beginning. but for a lot of workers i have been talking to, they have not even been able to file their unemployment benefits yet because there are so many people applying. if they have managed to file it, they have not received any money yet. allotted hundreds of billions more to help these unemployed workers, but the money is not out the door yet. the somewhat good news is, this should provide additional unemployment benefits for about the next four months, but the typical unemployment check, when you apply in the united states before the pandemic, was just shy of $400. this money from congress, when

it finally gets to states, will increase that weekly check by $600. now we are talking close to anyone who isso losing their job should really be applying for this money, because it is a pretty substantial increase. question onre quick that $2 trillion. we have had this question from people about social security recipients who do not usually file tax returns. they will be getting that $1200 in that package. we understand that is a reversal by the treasury department. why did they reverse that decision? guest: that's correct. there is huge relief that the treasury did reverse their opinion on that, and the reason they did was from outcry from lawmakers across the political senators 41 democrats, sent a pretty serious letter to treasury and even some republicans reached out as well. i have heard from close to thousands of social security seniors and social security

disabled who are worried about whether they would have to file a tax return when they don't normally do it. this is one instance where public pressure worked, and the government already has that data on file. obviously they already send a monthly check, so they will send that $1200 payment to that population. heather long, economics reporter for the washington post, we really appreciate you being up with us as morning area -- this morning. thank you so much. this our conversation hour, your employment situation theow -- and how coronavirus situation has impacted that. furloughed,aid off, or unemployed (202) 748-8000. if you are currently employed, (202) 748-8001.

for small business owners, (202) 748-8002. greg in midlothian, virginia. good morning. caller: yes, i am a teacher and a lot of the kids are doing the distance learning. i noticed how much time i spend sitting in front of the computer, which is not always so healthy, and dealing with a lot of kids that have never had experience with distance learning before. so it has been quite a bit of work. do end up spending a lot of time in front of the computer. now: are your classes moving to online with your kids? caller: they are. they have been for the past three or four weeks. host: what county, what district are you in in virginia a -- virginia? caller: i'm in chesterfield county. have county school officials giving you any indication of what is ahead?

are there potentially summer classes? caller: i actually teach at a private christian school, but the county has -- chesterfield county has said that they are not going to grade any more assignments for the rest of the school year, so basically the school year for the county and for the city of richmond is basically over. host: greg, we appreciate that -- oh, go ahead. finish up. caller: yeah, they announced that a couple days ago. host: we will hear from jaclyn next, philadelphia. hi there. caller: hi, i'm calling from philadelphia. the mayor is mayor kenny, and it was not told to us that our trash would not be picked up, which was thursday for me. today iseady two days, saturday. the trash is being pushed over into the streets. no one has said anything on the news.

i feel like they're just not doing their job. they can pick up the trash. it's a job, after all. host: any indication -- how bad is the covid-19 in philadelphia? any indication that the workforce in philly is really affected by this? the government workforce? is, but there are some places that are still open, giving hope to people that are shopping. line, butre was a that is because it was friday and people were getting paid. i'm getting around pretty good at getting my food. to hear.d thank you for tuning in this morning. on facebook, a post from a lane, who says -- the lane el --a aine, who says this -- i work in the legal field, the

closing of courts and recording clerks has a huge effect and everything is harder if not impossible to accomplish. today from the new york times, another story we are talking about this morning, new york pleads for outside help as deaths mount. versed on the cdc and their guidance. undercutting the cdc, the president says he will not wear masks. fridaynt trump said on that the centers for disease control and prevention was urging all americans to wear a mask when they leave their homes, but immediately undercut the message by repeatedly calling the recommendation voluntary and promising that he would not wear one himself. here's part of what president trump had to say. [video clip] also, thetrump: today cdc is announcing additional steps that americans can take against transmission of the virus. knowrecent studies, we that the transmission from individuals without symptoms is playing a more significant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood, so you do

not seem to have symptoms and it still gets transferred. in light of these studies, the cdc is advising the use of nonmedical face covering as an additional, voluntary public health measures. it is voluntary. you don't have to do it. they suggested it for a period of time, but this is voluntary. i don't think i'm going to be doing it, but you have a lot of ways you can look at it, as follows. the cdc is recommending that americans where a basic cloth or fabric mask. they can be either purchased online or simply made at home, probably material that you would have at home. these face coverings can easily be washed or reused. i want to emphasize that the cdc is not recommending the use of medical grade or surgical grade masks, and we want that to be used for our great medical people that are working so hard and doing some job. beical protective gear must

reserved for the front-line health-care workers that are performing those vital services. the new mask guidelines also do on replace cdc's guidelines social distancing, including staying in your home when possible, standing at least six timeapart for a period of -- again, we are all going to come back together here. we will all come back together. and practicing hand hygiene, which we should do anyway. a lot of things i think are shaking spillover -- hands, that will stay with our country for a long time beyond this. one of our great doctors was telling us that we have flus every year, and the number of people killed by the flu is very substantial. he said that if they didn't shake hands, that number would be substantially lower. so maybe some of these things long-term will be good. but those guidelines are still the best in the state this week

to avoid the infection. so with the masks, it will be a voluntary thing. you could do it, you do not have to do it. i am choosing not to do it, but some people might want to do it and that is ok. it is only a recommendation. it is voluntary. host: by the way, you can read more about the recommendation from the centers for disease control, cdc.gov. they write that the cough face face masksoth recommended are not surgical masks. those are critical supplies and continue to be reserved for health care workers and byst responders as reported the cdc guidelines. lubbock, west virginia. this is helen, recently unemployed. sorry to hear that. tell us about it? caller: i'm wondering if you are unemployed, not as a result of

the coronavirus, if you are still eligible for the money and 13 weeks extension, and waving the one-week waiting. waiving the one-week waiting period. host: if you are eligible for state unemployment insurance, i would guess that you are eligible for the extension as well. caller: all right. thank you very much. host: we're going to go to maryland, and i do not want to get your name wrong -- caller: my name is [inaudible] i just want to make a comment, theyi do not think the cap put on people who make $120,000 should not get the $1200. people, thethat

more money you make, the higher quality items you get. a bigger house, children go to private schools, so they get this money and they keep this money. besides that, the government taxes the $120,000 you make, and basically you do not come back home with anything more than $70,000, $75,000. excluding them from getting this $1200 is not a wise decision at all, because they are going to fall back in their mortgage payment, they are going to fall back in their credit card payments, and those payments are insured. the insurance industries will have a problem right now, and [inaudible] mortgage, loans the government mess.out, it is just a

the problem is when we do not elect people who understand how society works. it is a very big problem. , andthe $1200 to people some people who have never made $30,000, $40,000 in working on their lives should get $4000 every month. do you think they are going to put the money back into the economy go they are not -- economy? they are not. they should look into adp or whatever system that pays the people and just pay them exactly what they make, or pay them the $1200 directly. [inaudible] thanks for calling him. we will go to scott next in san diego. go ahead. caller: hi, good morning. i don't get to call washington journal very often, so this is a

rarity. but i thought it was worth trying in from this -- chiming in from this side of the country. we are fortunate in san diego. the last numbers we saw, we had about 1100 cases and only 17 fatalities so far from this covid-19 virus, so we are very fortunate in that regard. but it's going to get worse. one question i have -- and then i will tell you my own personal you're old enough, i can tell, i think, that you remember in the 1990's and early 2000's when you could not turn around without having an aol disk in your mailbox for america online, or you would find that checkout counters at the grocery store, sometimes they would put them in the magazines. everyone to be an aol subscriber and user. how is it the tests for this

virus are not as legible and is readily available as aol discs were back in the day? that is my question, and maybe you don't know. somebody knows and i wish they would tell us. i would like to know if i am a carrier, perhaps, without , ortoms who is not helping rather going out once a week for groceries and maybe infecting poor, innocent people. so there is that. disabled for i was years under the rules of social security, so i got disability and social security, and a year ago i turned 65 and nothing really changed for me, i have a steady income, so i am glad we are supposedly going to get the $1200, because i will put that right back in the economy. for the most part, my living expenses are already handled by social security, so i can get

out there and buy things. i am scott, correct me if wrong, the economy is pretty shut down in san diego, correct? caller: the grocery stores are open, and you will find other types of stores that are open. the malls are pretty much shot, and they weren't doing all that well recently, what with online commerce. i wonder if they are going to come back. like i say, having been disabled and not really an active person in society for the most part, nothing has really changed for me. i am homebound -- not a shut in, exactly, but i am homebound as it is. host: scott in san diego. governor gavin newsom, one of the many briefings we have been covering regularly here in the past couple of weeks. part of the briefing yesterday addressed the issue of the homeless in california. here's what he said. [video clip] >> we are very pleased today

with the partnership we have a, the partnership's and down the state, that we have identified roughly 7000 hotel rooms where we have occupancy agreements, and we are building partnerships throughout the state of california to begin to get folks into these sites. rooms, to beel exact, are now in our possession. on our way to getting 15,000 in the phase one of our efforts. fema, remarkably and to their credit, have created a template, first in the nation, in partnership with the state of california, where fema is providing 75% reimbursements for this project. this is first in the nation. their support is profoundly significant to address this crisis head-on. it is all around making sure that we address the most

honorable californians with the kind of -- vulnerable californians with the kind of security and support. this focus is not limitless, by any stretch of the imagination. it is focused on individual homeless populations that have been exposed to the virus that specifically are deemed high risk, that would be our seniors on the streets and sidewalks and encampments and tents, and those that have tested positive for covid-19. that is the bucket for reimbursement that fema has advanced. it is all around saving lives , as i suggest, particularly focuses on hospitals in the state of california. we have seen hundreds and hundreds of individuals now off the streets and sidewalks and into these non-congregant sites, and i will reinforce that -- non-congregant sites.

relievewant to do is the stress in our shelter system so we can separate individuals theultimately relieve impact on our medical care delivery system, which if left unaddressed, we allow our most vulnerable residents in the state of california to be exposed. xt us you can always te your comments this morning, (202) 748-8003. mike's in orlando, i'm worried about all the people who work around orlando. a taurus/service-based economy. all the themepark/hotels/restaurants that drive central florida's economy are closed until further notice. that could be until june at the earliest. absolutely devastating. text, the website crashes and you get hung up on by new york state unemployment services.

mike tweeted, i have a job as a central government employee as an information technology involved in the operation of a state medicaid system offering dental services. now more than ever medicaid will be necessary for millions. our next caller, joining us from buffalo, new york. good morning. caller: hi, everyone on c-span. i hope everyone is well, hanging in there. i really want to thank president trump for his leadership on this. you know, with all due respect, how could a guy go back and forth, tell us to wear a mask, not to wear a mask -- has anyone ever heard such a thing from a leader? a little sarcastic, but this guys completely off the mark. for leadership. this guy is trying to sell everybody a condo. i got laid off from my part-time

job and i do not have a pot to piss in. people you coming up here and blowing smoke up my you know what. i cannot believe it. all yous when -- trump people, because when you have a red hat on i will stay 30 feet away from you. host: john from north carolina. good morning, john. caller: hello? host: go ahead. workr: i am employed and for a business services company that provides internet services, so our business has been deemed essential, firstly with the ther of durham and then governor shut down all nonessential businesses, but we are not in that category. i've still working, and thank god i am doing very well. the money that we are going to times two, the $1200 i'm married, we really don't have a need for that.

my wife and i have been talking about what we should do with that money. there is a lot of neat in that in thaty -- need community with food banks, gofundme sites for unemployed restaurant workers and so forth, so we're probably going to donate most if not all of that stimulus money that we will be toting from the government those needy organizations. what kind of work do you do, john? are you comfortable the job will continue? said, we provide internet services. i am a systems engineer. we keep the internet going, our of the space, we provide essential services for companies. they still need to be on the internet, and that is what we do. in whatve us an idea

you see as far as increased traffic and demand across the internet? caller: it has exploded. we have issues with home routers, people have old routers and they call us and say, i can't get on the internet or, i have a lot of buffering in my video. turns out the router is five or six years old, and they need to , notde that to a faster necessarily a faster internet connection, but a faster router, which will enable them to then do the zooms and the facetime and all that kind of stuff that they need to do to perform their service. also, talking about traffic, the traffic on the road lately has been sublime. i wish it was like that all the time. i would have no problem driving to work or driving home from work in the evening. it is pretty deserted out there. host: thanks for calling this

morning. keep the systems working. we go to rachel, rachel next in buffalo, new york. rachel, go ahead. caller: yes, good morning. i'm calling it as i have been on furlough since early march. and i hear schools, outybody -- my heart goes to a lot of people, and i think we should just -- you know, this is not a nice word, but use patience and not politicize use a littleut common sense, and just be respectful, you know? i don't know. i see everybody getting so emotional and we can't control this. just ride it out. that's all i have to say.

furloughed,ou were rachel, you were furloughed as part of the shutdown in new york? caller: yes, yes. i work with schools, i work with special ed. host: i see. this is a full-time job? caller: actually no, it's part-time. it's a part-time job. host: thanks for calling in. we have aligned line for business owners. that line is (202) 748-8002. mannys many in daytona -- in daytona beach, florida. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i want to talk about the payroll protection program. i am in the process of applying for it through my bank. i live in florida, and in torida we weren't mandated shut down our business right away, so i tried to keep my people employed as long as i could, and i actually had them both, they wanted us to have two

stores and stay open, or if they wanted us to close. we got to a point where they wanted us to go ahead and close because of the safety, so we went ahead and closed, and i told him to sign up for unemployment because they could not wait to see what happened with the payroll protection plan. and the payroll protection plan has to make sure your employees get paid, ok? they signed up for unemployment, the government is giving them an extra $600 a week plus regular unemployment, which for some of my employees is more money than they make full-time. i am interested in how the government is going to solve that. i do not get 100% credit for it, the payroll protection plan, unless it makes sure they get paid. that is my concern. host: how difficult has the process been to apply for all this?

caller: as you can imagine, it's unbelievable. and it's confusing. , they didled the bank not know anything and said they ,ere in meetings and so forth and it sounds really easy, but it's not. i actually applied for one of the long lines that was the disaster relief program. i thought that was part of the payroll protection plan, so it took me a whole day to get through and get registered for that, and then i found out that the payroll protection plan was something different. i am working with my bank on that. i do say, i totally support donald trump and the good job he is doing, because this is really a tough situation and we've got to work together. host: appreciate you sharing your experience. good luck to connie in

wittenberg, pennsylvania, also a business owner. good morning. caller: good morning. i was calling on behalf of the business loans. i have a small business that i have been trying to keep alive since 2008, since the first time all this stuff happened, and i only have two employees now, my husband and my brother. i went and applied for the loan, and they say i have to use 75% of that for payroll for it guaranteed to be free. my bills are more than my payroll, now, they are better off going on unemployment and i might as well shut my doors. that's my comment. paso, texas. michael is employed. go ahead. caller: yes sir, good morning. this thing with the virus and all that, just know. it is getting out of control.

just worriedle are about it, wearing masks and everything, but when workers like myself have to worry about getting to work -- public transportation slowing down, and we have to worry more about getting to work, it's just another hassle, and i talked to other workers that i work with. they are telling me, it seems like every year there is another flu coming out. coronavirus,the it's more like in the past. we have to look at how the spanish flu was, you know? that was worse than the coronavirus. host: with covid-19, how

extensive is the shutdown in texas? caller: oh, it's worse. everything is shut down, there , even with to go essential workers like myself. essential workers trying to make it, we are having to stay in hotels, be closer to our work because we can't get to work. host: are you at a hotel now? are you able to go home? what's the deal? caller: i have to stay out at a hotel because the transportation, the public transportation is on a schedule where i cannot get to work on time. host: michael in texas. here is a story in georgia, the n,lanta journal-constitutio confusion surrounds georges coronavirus locked down. you can still play golf, go to

the beach or shop for groceries, get takeout from a restaurant, pick up medicine, seo dr., exercise, and go to church. can go tostances, you work. ofday was spent in the state confusion and disarray, trying to determine what is or is not allowed as the state combats the coronavirus pandemic. some question whether the exceptions undermine the lockdowns effectiveness. dr. anthony fauci was asked about that on the news hour on pbs last night. [video clip] >> have you told the president that you think it is a good idea to order americans to stay home? we don't have a problem with ordering essentially without having states be the major implementers of policy. do feel we should be

implementing this social distancing or physical separation, which in many respects means staying at home to the extent possible, and i think we should do is broadly throughout the country, because although there are hotspots that very obvious,e there is a thread about break virtually anywhere and everywhere in our country -- a virtuallyoutbreak anywhere and everywhere in our country. an opportunity for every state, region, locale to participate in this very serious physical separation as delineated very clearly in the guidelines. i have articulated this multiple times, as have several of my other colleagues. i am not alone on this. we daily brief the president. lives are at stake, wired command measures requiring people to do this appropriate now? -- >> i think when you

look at the instances of the press conference, when you hear me and others and the vice president, the president speak, it is the functional equivalent of that. i understand what you are talking about, making a very explicit statement, but that generally is not the way things operate in the way should chip -- in the relationship between the federal government and the states. i say out there, to all who are listening and all the states, that they should be doing this. even though they feel in certain respects, there were relatively few cases in their city and .heir towns, in their states there is no region of the country in my mind that's going to be exempt from an outbreak if you do not do the appropriate litigation issues, namely the physical separation that is clearly spelled out in the guidelines. host: checking the worldwide

covid-19 numbers as reported and tallied by johns hopkins university, over 1.1 million cases, with almost 60,000 deaths and 233,000 recovered. in the u.s., recovered, nearly 10,000. asking this morning the effect of the pandemic on your employment -- if you are recently unemployed or furloughed, that line is (202) 748-8000. if you are employed, (202) 748-8001. for a business owner, the line, (202) 748-8002. .or all others, (202) 748-8003 here's mark in freeport, new york, a business owner. doing? hi, how are you thank you for doing what you do,

because many people like you out here, just giving us an opportunity to call in and speak. i want to ask a quick question. this situation is more like a life or death right now. we have an incompetent president leading -- this shows you how [inaudible] to have a president who does not understand anything about distancing. and we have dr. fauci, who everybody says you have to listen to. that automatically gives us confusion. how do you listen to the man that works under the president and ignore what the president says, and listen to the dr.? to? is america come this was in my wildest dreams. when i speak, i am speaking from

experience, because i have lived in two different countries, so i come tot it is to america from a different country, from a different , and live in america and see what is going on in america. mark, you are calling on our business owners. tell us about that. you are a business owner? caller: i am a business owner, and i am a business owner but i own a lounge, so i have been closed for over a month now, because we had the law from the state of the governor -- and the governor, andrew cuomo. we were the first ones to close down. can you stayg closed before you are completely out of business? i do not know what i can do, because even getting the loans from the banks, my bank, they are giving me the

runaround. you do not know exactly where it is coming from in the sba, we have more questions from the sba , so we are not sure we can do anything, and i have a lot of private contractors that work for me because it is a lounge. ino not have employees that, -- that come in every week, it is based on private contractors. host: tony in a story a. caller: -- astoria. caller: i am a food truck operator. i'm the only person that works cannotfood truck, and i see what's going on with how i'm going to make a living or get money from them, because the streets are dead. subways are dead and the buses are dead. that is how i make a living, the mass transit, people going to work. host: sure. where is your truck typically stationed? city, by thew york colleges. when the colleges are gone and the schools are closed, so for

the past three weeks i have been trying to take care of my family. i don't have unemployment insurance. there was nothing in the small business loan that helps me, so i'm trying to figure out, where a smalll under as business owner that has nothing, just me by myself? i have no employees on it. host: how long have you been running your food truck? caller: i have been running my food truck since 1993. host: wow. typically in a year, if you are ok with this, what would you gross in a year from your food truck? caller: my gross income would be about $30,000, $40,000 a year if it is a good year. host: that is what your take from the business would be. caller: yes, yes. host: this has been able to sustain you since the 1990's? caller: [inaudible] yes.

shutdown and the package they just passed from running for small business owners, have you tried to apply for that? caller: i do not fall under a small business owner. can't understand the process because i am just one guy. it is one person. that is what i am trying to do -- do i fall under a sole proprietor? they told me i have next week to apply for that stuff. and i not have unemployment insurance, so my liable for the extra $600? host: good luck with that. questions i cannot answer, but thank you for calling in this morning. the economic situation, the job situation announced yesterday 4.4% in march, coming up from 3.5 in the previous month with

1,000 jobsobs -- 70 lost. the the financial times, previous weekend, global economy set for the sharpest reversal since the great depression. u.s. job crisis confirmed. the imf says it is worse than 2008. they write that the economy in jobs in shed 210,000 early march. official figures that were powers that economists had been expecting. the financial times writing that the u.s. unemployment numbers came shortly after surveys across europe revealed the services sector to be in deep for more than 20 years. in florida, this is john. caller: good morning. host: good morning. you just lost your job? caller: i am laid off this week. i am in a call center.

i applied on thursday for unemployment. i did it at :00 a.m. in the morning and had -- at 5:00 a.m. in the morning and had no problems. apparently it is the time you apply on their website. my bigger concern is my wife, who works in retail in a grocery store. obviously we are concerned about her health. she is not able to quit her job out of that concern and receive unemployment, because if you leave your job voluntarily you do not receive any unemployment. that is my bigger concern. i am receiving unemployment, i got the benefits, i am ok. just wanted to comment on that. are they taking any extra safety measures for her working in a grocery store? have got it finally around now, they are wearing gloves and masks in the store on the employees, so that is an a plus. but she comes am concerned

about her work. who hasyou do not know the virus. some have masks on, some don't. she cannot quit her job out of fear of her health, otherwise you do not receive any unemployment. so she has to stay there and keep working. host: how many hours a week does she work, typically? caller: she works 40. she reduced it one day a week, so now she is down to 32. host: we go to mike, in renton, washington. good morning. thank you for taking my call. i'm very grateful to live in this country. outside the country is much more unfortunate. i know. i have been outside of the country. i have not seen anything like this happen since the cuban missile crisis, and i do not appreciate people hoarding, taking more than they need.

we should work together rather than be selfish. you know, i am not scared for myself, but i am scared about younger people enjoying their freedom. i wish they would quit the political bickering, and i think we should stay united and forget too. politics for a while it is a different time, you know? are extremely privileged to live in this country and we should not be complainers. host: comments on text and twitter. on twitter, we are at @cspanwj. karen tweet this about her work -- my company has most of us

working from home. currently receiving full pay. no one has been laid off, but my husband's company shut down and employees are being paid at 80% of salary. florida, iorth believe this pandemic and our reaction to it will destroy most of the small businesses and some of the larger businesses as well as each of the knows -- job dominoes fall, they will take more in a cascading event that will have a larger impact than the pandemic. carol, we have been closed since mid-march. stay home if you are not working. people need to stop complaining. the government and states are doing their best since no one has ever been through this. trump fired a navy captain for inosing how bad covid-19 is the military. i wonder who else trump fired to cover up his disaster.

talking about captain brett crozier. roosevelt navy captain followed in the ships of his state's namesake, writing a bombshell letter. navy officials are finding themselves in controversial waters in the wake of thursday's announcement that the service was relieving captain brett crozier of command of his aircraft carrier, a decision made following the leak of a ,our-page letter that he penned pleading for u.s. assistance to stymie the effect of covid-19 on the 400 person ship. "this will require a but a little -- a political solution but it is the right thing to do," crozier wrote in the letter. "we are not at war. sailors do not need to die. if we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most it trusted asset, our sailors."

it was an act that raised alarm bells unnecessarily, lay said, and undermines our efforts and the trend of command's efforts to address this problem and creates panic and this perception that the navy is not on the job, the government is not on the job, and that is just not true. read that article, navytimes. com. we hear from jeremiah next, birmingham, alabama. caller: [inaudible] wounded twice in the vietnam war. that thet is a shame military have to be confined with that coronavirus and nothing is being done about it. the commander in chief -- [inaudible] -- defies the cdc , ando not wear a mask

tells the state that he will not wear one, it is in contradiction to this very serious virus. it is a mention that it this have --.do not we have a money home with politicians who is only concerned about --. and business, if they go out of business, that is the type of constant we will have. we are going through hard times. times we have never seen before. but we will come out on the other side. [inaudible] thank you very much. got bless america. host: in california. , and i'm am sick waiting to try and take the test for coronavirus.

i am uninsured, and they are giving me the runaround. i have a family of five that i am stuck within this house. i am calling for this reason -- everyone is freaking out about democratic socialism, and now everybody is asking for a handout. we are america. we are supposed to help people that need help. donald trump has messed this country up. he accused hillary clinton of so many things and everything he accused her of, he has done himself. who is doing this? him. he can order mandatory -- i forget what it is called -- that companies start building stuff. they are competing state to state. it is american greed at its finest. we need help as a country, and he turned his back on us. but this is what we wanted and this is what we got. he did not make the disease, but he is not helping, because he is not helping get rid of it.

dr. fauci -- i am sorry if i pronounce his name wrong -- is trying to help. he says one thing and the president says another thing. here that preacher got arrested -- i do not know if you all heard -- for holding a sermon. that is not a priority. they are not taking away the bibles from people. people are sick. we need to help. votedndependent, i have democrat and republican -- i try to vote for what is going to help my community, my government, and my world because at the end of the day we are all human beings. host: not feeling well, you want to get a test. where would you get that test from? caller: right now, i do not know because i am uninsured. i am calling around and calling around, and they say i would have to pay out of pocket, which would be $3000.

i have not made any money for two months. i blessed that my wife continues to work. trump invokes a lot to acquire surgical masks manufactured abroad by 3m. laws using a korean war era as part of the heated pressure campaign to force the minnesota company to cut off sales of surgical masks abroad. the policy would be a significant the -- expansion of the federal a ernment's reach and reversal of president trump's hesitant use of the defense production act. moves, some legal

experts fear could backfire and force foreign governments to clam down on desperately needed medical necessities for the united states. heater navarro the white house traded visor who had been put into art of policy related to the acts, level the broadside on friday against the company, all but accusing it of disloyalty. the president was asked about the increasingly vocal situation in new york. difficultingly situation in new york. here is what he said. [video clip] >> governor cuomo said new york might be days away from running out of ventilators. can you assure them that they will have the ventilators that they need? no, they should have had more ventilators at the time. they should have had more ventilators. they are totally under service. we are doing our best for new york, and we have a lot of butes and territories too, we have a lot of states that have to be taken care of.

some of much more so than others. we have worked very well with the governor. we happen to think he is well served with ventilators. we havefind out, but other states we need to take care of. we have a big problem in louisiana, michigan, several other really strong hotspots, but we are doing the best we can. i wish they did the original order three years ago. they would have had all the ventilators they needed, but even then they wouldn't. if you look at the original request from new york, it was far greater than anybody ever heard. we supplied a lot. we supplied some just today to new york, and yesterday to new york city. >> [inaudible] important. it was an important question, because what jared kushner said yesterday is that the federal for thee is by use federal government, not for the access to.ave

the jared kushner misspeak yesterday? >> hours. hours referring to our country. the states are part of our --ntry -- hours ours referring to our country. the states are part of our country. we want to keep some because when we hit those peaks, we need to have the flexibility to take those ventilators, bring them to louisiana, new york, detroit, all those places. we are not going to be using them anywhere else. we want to have the flexibility, because we do not know when the surge is coming, but it is coming soon and it will be big. this is roll call the congressional response to the pandemic. -- headline, losey punts pelosi punts on infrastructure.

the white house backed away from proposals to include a major infrastructure package in a new round of coronavirus related economic aid, arguing instead a measure tailored to the needs of individuals and small businesses. a quick check of facebook, josie says my husband is working 16 hours a day in a grocery store warehouse. he is exhausted. let's hear from a small business owner, mike in latham, new york. go ahead. also.:we are a special business being out there every day, there are some issues with safety that we try to make sure everybody is as safe as they possibly can. ppended up applying for the loan. it was pretty straightforward, confusing at first. once you read through it, it is not that hard to apply for. everybody that i have dealt with was straightforward and willing

to help. what is going on in the country is a difficult time for everyone. we see the ramifications of security that gets broken down quite a bit. , the trumpment administration is doing the best that is in a situation unfathomable to everyone. this is a global issue that we all have to work together, and to sensationalize it with some of this media is downplaying and screwing things up. in advance can you plan for things? it is said -- is it week by week? a business plan that allows us to keep our employees on. the ppe loan will hopefully

bridge us when the rest of the economy comes back up. that is what we are hoping for. -- we wereuation lucky enough to have foresight to plan for that rainy day. host: appreciate your experience. more "washington journal" ahead here on c-span. we will be joined by everett kelley, the national president for the american federation of government employees with respect to the pandemic on frontline federal employees. later, matt lee-ashley from the center for american progress discusses how threats have contributed to the covid-19 pandemic. healthte commissioner of addressed the topic at yesterday's briefing. [video clip] and health departments

have been advising people who did not have symptoms to not wear masks when they are in public, saying they offer little or no protection to the public. in the past 24 hours, that advice has evolved even though definitive advice has not yet come from cdc. it is evolving fast like everything else in the coronavirus epidemic. now i am joining other health leaders in recommending that masks ins wear public even if they have no symptoms. now we know from more recent data that recent genetic spread possible.irus is may help face mask people from spreading the virus.

i fully expect that cdc will be making the same recommendation today or in the coming days. i want to stress two important points. we must always wear medical masks for health care workers who are on the front lines with patients. distancing,cial stay-at-home, stacy is still -- stay safe is still the most effective way to slow the spread. s are alreadyr doing, the sacrifice they are making with social distancing is beginning to show promising results. we must keep up this work for a little while longer, even if we see the curve potentially flattening so that in the future we can get together again in health and safety announcer:

"washington journal" continues. everett say hello to kelley, the president of the american federation of government employees. 700,000e represent over federal mdc workers throughout america. host: there is a term we have heard talking about essential frontline federal employees. give us an idea of who some of those employees are. guest: some of those employees , some of our veterans administration workers, workers.ur prison those would be essential personnel. host: what are some of your concerns of some of your 700,000

members? what are you hearing from frontline workers? guest: more than anything is protection. they feel that they are inadequately protected. while they want to do their jobs , they just want to be protected. our main concern is making sure that those employees that we represent are protected. do you have any idea of how many of your members have contracted covid-19? have an don't really accurate number. i know that within the tsa there , and within the veterans administration, i think the last count i had was about 1 89. can i give you a little background about why we feel so strong about the fact that we

need the protection? host: it is a coincidence that the number that you are present, over 700,000, is basically the march of jobs lost in according to the bureau of labor statistics. do you have an idea of how many government jobs in march? guest: at this point, we don't have that number. the building facilities are still working. we have our veterans administration still working, tsa still working. we have some personnel that are teleworking. there are certainly not enough people working from home. day they are facing the threat of contracting this virus. host: how do you think that might change the federal workforce given so much done

from home now? i think that in many cases we are still able to get the job done. we advocate for a teleworking in many instances because we are able to complete the job and do it well. affect see that it will the ability to get the services done. host: our guest is everett kelley, the president of the american federation of government employees. we are talking about the coronavirus. we welcome your calls. for those of you in the eastern and central time zones. (202) 748-8001 for the mountains

and pacific time zones. for those of you that are federal employees, the number is (202) 748-8002. tell us the work you do and your concerns. , what are tsa agents doing now that hardly for the mountains and pacific time zones. for those of you that are anyone is flying? the coronavirus has changed airports for the tsa. they are the front line employees, but there are still flights flying across the u.s. what are some of the things you are hearing from tsa members? guest: the main thing is they are concerned. asked them to provide medical protection for the tso' s. finally they have given them some masks. in a short time those masks will

have exhausted. fearful of not being protected adequately. that is the main concern. are willing and ready to work. care what type of health to most full-time federal employees receive? guest: they have an opportunity to choose their health care from blue cross blue shield to an array of various health care opportunities for those employees. they have an opportunity to choose which one they desire. there is talk in washington of a fourth pandemic legislation coming out after the $2 trillion measure passed last week. what other measures do you think

the federal government needs to take to ensure the security of federal workers and workers countrywide? i think more than anything what the federal government needs to do is be making sure that if an employee is high risk, that they all have opportunities to be away from the job in order to not affect anyone else. they also need to make sure that all federal employees working under these conditions have the opportunity to be paid hazardous duty pay. i think that is also important. host: the headline says federal workers in the union sue for hazard pay. a federal class-action lawsuit argues agencies should be required to provide hazardous

duty pay to employees exposed to the coronavirus. give us what you may have heard from some of your members given stories that they may be asked to work when they do not want to work. have you heard things like that? we certainly have. we have heard people being forced into work and knowing that they may have been around people that have tested positive for the coronavirus. work that want to have been told they cannot work. sad stories out there. i have had the opportunity to speak with several members of our union as they tested positive, and they are in tears. i have had the opportunity to call them and talk to them. they have been treated so badly

by the administration. the only thing you can do is pray for them. that is what we have been doing. at the same time continuing to talk with the different agencies and insist that they provide adequate protection for our employees. president of the the american federation of government employees. what is your background? i retired from the department of defense out of alabama. 34 years there. served in the army for three years. to calls.s get ashley from jacksonville, florida. caller: i was calling because i have some concerns. i currently work for the federal government. cannot wearhat we

masks. we still have to do face-to-face contact with people. if you are teleworking, you have to use your own cell phone and laptop. i.t. cannot handle how many people are working from home. we have to use our own sick leave if we think we have been possibly exposed to covid-19. i think the government should be more prepared or this. ebolae gone through the virus, 9/11, hurricane disasters in huge parts of florida. i feel like the government prepared with all the things that have happened in the past. concerns there about using

her sick leave. guest: i totally agree with the sister. thank you for those comments. i think the federal government should be responsible for making sure that you have adequate equipment to perform your job duties and also to make sure that you have ppe so that you are not contracted with this fire is. that is the position of the union and the reason we continue to push agencies to make sure they are providing these types of amenities to our workers. i agree with you. we continue to push for that. some agencies are a little tougher. we continue to push hard, even with congress, where letting them know what is going on with agencies that are not adhering to the cdc values. what is the policy of

agencies in terms of using personal cell phones to get work done for that? guest: they should be reimbursed for that. that some ofe fact these executive orders have taken away the union's ability to negotiate on these things. that is what these executive orders have done, eliminated the bargaining opportunities for unions so management has the opportunity to go in and direct the employees to do certain things without an opportunity to negotiate. that is the backlash of the executive orders that were issued by this administration in 2018 that we have been challenging over and over again. the next call is from concord, massachusetts. janet, welcome. caller: thank you. what can be done to force the

social security administration to reopen the tele service centers that were closed by this administration in september 2019 so claims for disability, retirement, and survivor benefits could be done by telephone? host: when did they close? caller: december 2019. guest: we were opposed to closing those centers. the council president has done an outstanding job to get to this to the public. saying to the administration and congressional personal that this is not conducive for this community or that community. we continue to fight against that. is reallyistration coming after us and giving us not a lot of opportunities to bargain. we could have

bargained those types of closures, but with this executive order, it does not give us the opportunity. host: our line for federal workers is (202) 748-8002. portsmouth,la in virginia. caller: i'm with a veterans affairs. i have a number of concerns regarding how our employees are treated. when we areo that not treated well, our veterans are not treated well either. we have employees who today are still being forced to see veterans face-to-face without protection and so forth being provided to them. that puts the veteran at risk because we could have covid-19. that puts the employee at risk because the veteran could have covid-19.

it is not a safe situation, and requiring our providers to come whenrk and see patients they themselves are positive and they could give it to their coworkers and the veteran, i just don't understand where some of these things came about. i know we have been fighting it. i'm so glad that we are on c-span today to really get that to gett to john public on the phone and call your congressman and senator. let them know that what is happening in the veterans affairs department and all over to force employees to ife to use their own masks, they will even allow them to bring their own masks is wrong. those things should be provided. there should have been preparations made for this. i could go on and on with the

concerns my people have. i have people today where the v.a. will not even tell the public how many employees are being adversely impacted. host: we will get a response. guest: thank you for your comments. you are on point. we have continued to raise these issues with the administration. administration seemingly just does not care for the employees. we know of a situation in weekornia as we heard last were they were issuing protective clothing. bag tore given a trash use in a procedure. when they came along, they passed it on to someone else. that is absurd. this administration should have been much more prepared for a situation like this, and they are seemingly not even trying to prepare now.

we are calling on this administration to make sure that people are adequately protected and that they do not have to use their own personal equipment unless they are going to be reimbursed for that. i totally agree with this sister. we are working that issue as fast as we can. thank you for being in the fight. host: a concentration of federal employees in d.c. one in seven may get the virus. one in every seven residents could get infected with the novel coronavirus. peak inemic hitting its the nation's capital early this summer and then gradually receding. the estimates came as the number of coronavirus cases in the district past 5000 friday morning, and the number of total fatalities climbed past 100.

employees areal there in the greater nation's capital region? guest: this seems like when we were dealing with the 35 day shutdown it may have been close to 180,000 federal workers in the region. host: what kind of plans are in place to handle the potential loss of the federal workforce due to illness or death? guest: the bottom line is i don't see that there is any real plan in place. out sove shut the unions that there is not enough room to bargain. management is making decisions without consulting or having any opportunities to negotiate with the unions. there is no plan.

if you really want to resolve a problem, you go to that person that is actually performing those duties every day. they are not getting that feedback. they are not getting any information from the employees were union. there is no plans in place. think that we are going to see some tragic times if we don't come together and work together to resolve these issues. host: how much are the airlines on your side on this for coming to the assistance of workers?

guest: the airline industry is working in conjunction because they all understand the risks that are involved and want to see masks with the tso's. we are all working towards the same objectives, and that is to ensure that all employees and the public is protected. host: linda is next. go ahead. caller: good morning. thank you dr. kelly for bringing this awareness to the public. i feel as though the agency is ill-prepared for this national emergency that is upon us right now, and with a national emergency, it takes national preparedness. our front-line workers are being exposed. they are not trained. reassigned into

areas they have never worked before. they are afraid. they are terrified. there is chaos and confusion. i'm afraid that they are going to take all these employees out because we don't have the training. this is national preparedness that we should be compared for every year. they have not done so. proper training for our front-line employees who have been reassigned from clinics. ,hey are doing emergency care and they expect everybody to jump in and just do it. host: tell us the kind of work you do. caller: i am a nurse and president of my union. we sit down to negotiate or tried to, but they already had their mind made up of the changes they are just going to throw our employees into

regardless of what we propose or ask for. we're just trying to protect the members. it is frustrating. host: thank you. thank you so much for those comments. as the president, we go through certain situations, and what i know is this, the buck stops here. i am responsible for what happens. i take that very seriously. i think it is time for us as america to stop throwing the blame game and except the responsibility and then do something about it. i think we have the opportunity to do something. there are a lot of things that could be done in my opinion. i submit that if you were to get the unions and management talking, you could resolve some of these issues.

not managers are being told to discuss these issues with the union. that theding yesterday secretary of defense has told the commanders that they don't even want to know how many people are affected by the coronavirus. just deal with it. that is what we are dealing with every single day. it is sad that we are in a that what we are seeing. we want to see people protected. we want to see every american citizen protected from this virus. host: you mentioned the executive orders issued by the white house leaving the union out of it. typically, are you given input on things or advanced warning? why was the union left out of consideration?

i wish i could give you the reason why. typically prior to the executive orders, the union would have been consulted and given an opportunity to give input. the executive orders are intentionally not consulted and left out. it is an opportunity for this administration to bust unions. some of management are not agreeing with it, that they have to do what they are told to do. they understand that they need the union in order to accomplish some of the missions. host: thousands of federal employees have contracted covid-19. we go to joseph next in georgia. good morning, mr.

president. employeesen told that designated as mission essential are ineligible for weather and safety leave, although i have been unable to find any guidance, and management has refused to provide any. i wondered if you have any information related to that? your local should be meeting with management and decisions about who should be making leave. to go to our website to find a lot of information there. poc therelso find a to talk with.

host: we will hear from chris in arkansas. caller: thank you for taking my call. thank you for the things that you do. kudos for the union guy there. here in arkansas, there is a facility that used to be called national center for toxicological research. not everything except for essential personnel, the guys ,hat keep refrigerators running have been furloughed. these are some of the most intelligent people. why? wondering facilitiesthese being utilized in the investigation of the coronavirus?

i will take my answer off the air. guest: there are so many jobs being furloughed. i don't have the answer as to why. facilities lot of that could be used that are not being used. out of nowhere, sometimes we get a notice that these employees are going to be furloughed, and this is where they are going. instances, we did not have an opportunity to say anything about that. ron is next in georgia, federal employee. you are on the air. caller: this is ron johnson. i am ayou are on the air.

president of the local. my staff was being told the same thing. everybody is labeled essential. everyone has direct contact. i have been president of the are hazardous pay. management has said there is no orar designation for the pay the weather leave, can we get some clarification? guest: can you hear me? caller: yes. guest: i would suggest that you go to our website and look at our guidance and make sure that when you are given an opportunity to negotiate that you use the guidance that we have. there is some other information that i would like you to get. that is the poc that will handle those types of things and try to

help you get to that result. i would suggest that you do that. sense ofyou have any how your experience or the experience of your members compares with those front-line employees in the private sector? the grocery store workers and folks working in warehouses and trucking industries? guest: i'm just not concerned about federal workers as a whole, i am in the sense that i represent those federal workers, but i believe because we have employees that work in the grocery stores. i don't downplay any occupation. all of those essential personnel need to be contacted adequately. i don't think we have done a good job of making sure that every citizen in america is protected.

responding to that photo of the postal worker, all hands on deck. thanks to postal carriers. topeka, kansas. steve is next. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm a retired federal employee. i might give a shout out to the retired federal employees, which maybe you don't realize. retired 17 years in topeka. it is tornado season out here in kansas among other locations in the central plains. our governor in her daily press briefings, which have been fantastic, was mentioning tornado season and that while

you are inside, you will not be far away from your basement. wife is a former teacher, student teacher. she says wash her hands all the time. i think we are responding well. i am concerned about our office. i cannot even get into the office. we are one of 900 stations around the world that release weather balloons. groundt even go on the to watch this. i had some grandkids that wanted to watch this. they could not even get on the ground to watch this. i can watch across the street. i totally understand.

boss inhe first woman our office history, if you look back, these offices go back to the 1880's. one of his situations aside from that is that the government shutdown was about a month long seven months back. one of the employers is new with a child that she had. she came on just when the government shutdown came on. we are essential employees, and she was not paid for over a month. she was glad to be there because she was dedicated to her job. i think the only person that can get in is the janitor. guest: thank you for those comments. thatgrateful for government employee network

those 35 days without pay. we had tragedy, thanks to the unions and congressional personnel, we made sure that a again never have to work under those circumstances without getting paid. these are the types of things the union does for employees. we make sure that the administration talks to the union about issues. sharing from new jersey, also a federal employee. good morning. good morning. how are you, thank you to c-span . there are a lot of federal employees that are not covered under the bargaining unit. we fall into this ambiguous category where we are employees. we are on a certain level, not

considered management. we are not considered lower employees. we are left in limbo. wish that someone would take us into consideration because basically we are just hanging. information. we might not get information. that is one of the things i would like to ask, if you have any input as far as we are concerned. host: everett kelley, go ahead. guest: i would suggest that you speak with the union representative on your campus or installation. fighting is out there for every employee. we had an opportunity to share a

conversation with two senators yesterday, and the ask was not just for bargaining unit employees, but it was for all federal employees. that continues to be our ask. we will continue down that road of making sure that every person , all federal employees are protected, and then in order to get information, i would suggest you contact the union representative at your installation and asked him to share information with you. host: the previous caller mentioned the government shutdown of last year. here?re any similarity to my knowledge, i don't think it has been. david in new jersey.

caller: good morning. thank you for being there for us. i want to appreciate all these medical personnel in danger. i think them for their service. i am a representative of the engineers and scientists union. teleworking and our computer breaks down and we are locked out, are we covered under the leave, the weather leave? i would ask you to consult with your local president to answer that specific question. i can answer in generalities, but that specific question, check with your union president or representative. it would make sense, but i cannot say for sure. host: politico reports d.c.

leaders fear outbreak that cripples the country. the article friday in political, imagine new york city except with hundreds of thousands of federal workers living there. that is where government officials and health experts across the d.c. area fear the region is heading. the pandemic has gone easier on the capital than some major metro areas. it is about to hit hard. you can read about that at politico.com. kate in ohio, federal employee. thank you for taking my call. i actually have a couple of questions. i was recently told that if i was concerned about my health coming into work right now that

maybe i fall into one of those high risk categories that i could work through reasonable accommodations, however this does not apply to family members that i care for. has severen that asthma. i help take care of my 80-year-old father-in-law that has asthma, emphysema. i am very concerned about bringing this home to them. currently reasonable accommodations is not taking that into consideration. i did not know if the union was aware of this and fighting to get that to be a consideration for reasonable accommodations. that is my first question. let me try to answer the first one. i would refer you to go to our website. a complete department that deals with those types of issues.

i suggest you go to their website and contact that office. they will be up to give you guidance on that specific issue. thank you so much. my second question is i just received an emailed from the categories new leave about additional weeks of sick leave if you contract the virus and leave for employees with children at home. i have a school-aged child at home that we are trying to provide health care for. this is a lot working full-time. received said that these were either or leave categories. you cannot take both. if i were to try to stay at home with my children for two weeks and then go back to work and somehow contracted the virus,

that sick leave category does .ot apply is that something the union is working on? we could really use the help at home with the kids. i am worried about taking the leave now. i don't know if that was something that you all are working towards as well. i cannot stress the importance of going to the because we have a staff that has been working around the clock. our entire educational we have all kinds of commission for you. go to the website and take a look. i think some of your questions can be answered. if not, you can find the contact

information and contact them. they will be ready to give you some answers. the entire staff, i am proud of them. they have been working around the clock to ensure that we are able to put out the information. naming namesrt because i will not be able to get to all of them. i am proud of the information that is available for our members at our website. host: our guest is everett kelley. thank you so much for being on. guest: thank you for having me. host: after the break, we will be joined by matt lee-ashley from the center for american progress. he says threats to global biodiversity may have contributed to the covid-19 pandemic. later, marie fishpaw discusses telemedicine. market responded to a

question about the possibility of stricter enforcement of those not following social distancing guidelines. [video clip] >> i think what we have decided with ourfar is to blessing have been increasing their patrols and activities as an enforcement matter in other communities, including lakewood. where was the bar we had a shutdown? blairstown. you don't live too far from there. i think the big thing, further law enforcement presence. the eligible penalties have gone up dramatically. that was the attorney general's decision.

the fines are up to $10,000 depending on the conviction and the amount of time a jail is up to 18 months. we believe that is a significant deterrent. yesterday afternoon, the attorney general and i got on the prosecutors of the largest cities in new jersey. the attorney general does not want to demand that every large police department does things buttly the way to work does we try to get to some level of understanding of what enforcement looks like. we are trying to come to some even playing field with regards to how that enforcement looks throughout all 21 counties. >> we need enforcement. we need 100% compliance. we have got rolla done not far

on the heels of both eastern and passover. we have got to make sure people comply. >> tonight on q&a, he has been on the front lines as a prominent member of the white house coronavirus task force. >> when you are dealing in the politics, of policy, and medicine, be be totally honest, and don't tell people things that you think they might want to hear. tell them the truth that is based on evidence because even though politicians in the administration and congress may not be happy with what you tell them because it disappoints them, they will respect you if after a while it is clear to them that you are telling them the truth based on scientific evidence.

>> we will profile dr. anthony fauci, looking at his personal life and his relationship with past presidents and his career -- disease.t these watch a profile of dr. anthony fauci tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. >> "washington journal" continues. host: next, matt lee-ashley, senior fellow at the center for american progress and their former director of public plans. the threat tobout biodiversity from covid-19. tell us what we mean when we say biodiversity.

we are talking about the abundance and diversity of nature, the wildlife and plants and animals that exist in natural systems and how they coexist and how healthy those ecosystems they occupy our. we are seeing a collapse of biodiversity. scientists are calling it the sixth mass extinction. about one million species around the world are at risk of disappearing. biodiversity is in rapid decline around the world. highlights onthe the threats to biodiversity, one million species are at risk of extinction worldwide. half of all rain forests in the world are gone. two thirds of wetlands have disappeared. 60% of the planets wildlife has been lost since 1970.

the headline said the destroyed creates the perfect conditions for coronavirus to emerge. scientists have been warning us that this is increasing the risk for infectious diseases to make the leap from the natural world into the human world. mers, hiv-aids, and now covid-19 have their origins in the natural world. through wildlife trafficking and deforestation, loss of natural it is easier for happenings and diseases to make the leap into our communities, and then in the modern world with transportation and commerce

as we have seen here with those diseases can move around the world at lightning pace. host: tell us what that means. are diseases that began in the natural world with wildlife. whether they are with bats or other creatures, and then through contact with humans, they transmit from nonhuman animals to human and then spread for human communities. scientists are estimating two thirds of emerging axis diseases in the world come from animals. that number is so high in large humans areuse infringing on the natural world at unprecedented speed. when we disrupt natural systems, it is easier for viruses to

emerge into our communities. your report is saying half of the rain forest are gone in the world, why are being forests in particular important? forests are hotspots for biodiversity. these are not just tropical rain forests. we have rain forests in north america. those systems are incredibly valuable for providing clean water and food and clean air to our communities around the country and around the world. host: those rain forests have been breeding grounds where the

chemicals have been located. guest: that is absolutely right. we are increasing the risk of diseases and also limiting our options of finding cures. half of all medicines today have ingredients that are threatened by biodiversity loss. the destruction of nature is a problem for the pandemics that inability tod our find cures to them. our guest is matt lee-ashley, senior fellow at the center for american progress. we are talking about the loss of world biodiversity and the emergence of coronavirus.

for those of you on the central and eastern time zones. (202) 748-8001 for those of you in the mountain and pacific. what else in your background has you interested in this topic? i spent time at the u.s. department of the interior, working for the obama administration, and the interior department is the main natural resources agency for the federal government. i also worked in the u.s. senate on natural resource policy. domestichas been on nature policy. shows theart fragmentation of the american landscape is worsening. fragmentation has become so extensive that if a person were

to parachute into a random spot in the lower 48, they could expect to be no more than a 10 minute walk from human development. what is fragmentation and what are you getting at here? guest: the point is that the united states is not immune from the nature crisis. we are losing natural areas very quickly. the human footprint in the lower 48 states, what they found his way are losing about a football field worth of natural area in the u.s. every 30 seconds. amazon rainthe forest in brazil as disappearing very quickly. natural areas in the u.s. are disappearing at a similar rate. it is not just that we are losing natural places in a logical and linear fashion. is the suburban sprawl that

carves up remaining natural areas into smaller chunks. biglife need to have expanses to be able to migrate and survive. with the habitat fragmentation, we're talking about the degree to which wildlife is being boxed in. we don't encourage everybody to parachute into a random spot in the u.s., but if you did, you would find yourself closer to human development than you would have 20 years ago. host: looking at that chart between 2000 and 2017, the biggest loss in the midwest and nearly 60% loss of total natural land area. back to the topic this morning on the emerging united diseases. what about areas in china?

are similar things happening around the world? land andlosing biodiversity as quickly? it is a global problem. require international cooperation. big picture, we need to protect about half of the year in its natural state if we are going to survive as a species. that is because we need the clean water and clean air and food that comes from nature. togethers are coming around the idea of pursuing the objective of conserving 30% of all lands and oceans on the planet by the year 2030. nations will have a chance to come together early next year to set those targets for nature conservation.

pursuing that kind of ambitious goal would be immensely valuable for a variety of reasons, including our ability long-term to buffer ourselves from these kinds of infections. host: what is the center for take on progress's recent efforts like the one million trees effort to grow more trees across the globe? guest: i think the inspiration and the idea of desire to do something good is there. on a practical level, that proposal needs a lot more substance and actual detail for it to be meaningful. largeea of reinforcing landscapes and protecting forests, that is what we should be after because of the value of

nature and the services it provides and in the battle against climate change. one of our most powerful weapons is the ability of natural stores to absorb and carbon. reducing the planets natural ability to capture and store carbon. the u.s. backed away from the paris climate agreement. you are talking about this 30 by 30 first that nations want to agree to. where is the u.s. on that? guest: the u.s. has been moving backward on nature conservation. in the last three years, we have seen the largest elimination of protections of lands in the u.s. history? protectionsepeal

for the u.s.'s largest rain forest. that has long been a tradition here in the united states, bipartisan, to protect places that matter to everyone. we are encouraging the national leaders to adopt and pursue goals in the u.s.. it is achievable and we could here at home conserve 30% of u.s. lands and oceans by 2030. take us doing more with compass ovation -- with conservation. these are trails and protecting forests and we can do this as a country. host: let's go to texas. good morning. caller: i am really glad to have matt on a out about this and

.iving us this information thank you c-span. i feel like we are disrupting nature worse than ever. administrationhe currently by far. we must protect the client. wouldstion to matt is, you say that the earth has a way of protecting itself biologically through viruses and bacteria's that would infect people because we are so incredibly overpopulated and such like that to defend itself? guest: i don't know if nature has an influence on this eared we know the value of nature to our own communities and we know

what the essentials are to human life, clean air, clean water, healthy food supplies and to get outside in healthy ways. we are making conscious decisions as humans to protect or not protect the natural world. scientists are giving us the information we need to make better choices and we need to be rethinking some of the actions we are taking and the policies we have to create a better balance that we have with the natural world. host: we will go to richard in colorado. i was looking at the flu epidemic website on the cdc and noticed that over the last eight years, six years have been over 500,000 hospitalizations and upr the last 10 years it is above 250,000 to 800,000

hospitalizations. these epidemics are getting out of control with the flu and the coronavirus and just with the environment. are we likely to lose if of the population the united states and world to save the planet? i am just hoping for the best. inc. you. -- thank you. guest: one thing that was pointed out was that our food supplies are more than able to support people on earth and more. part of the problem is we are wasting supplies. we are able to provide food for 10 million people and there aren't 10 billion people on earth. it is making wiser decisions

about the resources we have and being smarter about development. being smarter about where we will procure our wood or do we need to be allowing for would to be harvested from some of the sensitive places in the amazon? do we need to open the tongue e forest in alaska? no, we have ample areas more around the world. it is about being smarter about decisions we are making and setting goals for nature conservation and recognizing there are some places in the united states and around the world that should be protected areas. will have 12% of the u.s. with protected areas. we should have closer to 30% by 2030. that is a powerful way to sustain nature and the systems and services that nature

provides to all of us. host: some of your proposed 30 by 30 project is to save ourselves we have to say major. you write that encroachment on natural areas -- and we talked about this -- an explication of wildlife is breaking the barriers between wins and disease carrying animals. habitat and biodiversity loss are disrupting ecosystems that have naturally regulated diseases and protected human health. give us an example of how these types of diseases would normally stay in that ecosystem. have: we are fortunate to terrific biologists and scientists who write beautifully about these things, so i will pretend to summarize. think of lyme disease or west nile disease. lyme disease is a good example ands disease borne by tics infections have gone up

dramatically in recent years. one of the reasons for that as there has been a disruption of forests in the united states and the disappearance of certain animals within the food chain that have been able to help manage other species that carry tics. it is a scenario that when targeting an ecosystem disappears and gets disrupted, then that system is out of balance and you see that some of the species that are most able to survive after habitat disruption through urbanization of those that are able to carry pathogens most effectively. think of rats in many cases. they thrive in some of the most adverse circumstances and also some types of bats. we are seeing these kinds of pathogens emerge from different places, and even climate change is an exacerbating factor.

color.ext caller:. .aller overcrowding and the fact that there is the development of nitrogen based fertilizers, we are able to increase the food supply is not a reason why we should be happy that we could have 10 billion people on the earth. we are way over crowded as it is already in this is why we are encroaching on the natural habitat. i will take my answer off of the air. i think you for c-span. guest: one thing i will point out. i think it is sometimes hard to keep a picture of a condition of nature in the united states

because depending on where you live, it looks very different. if you live in some of the more rugged parts of the country, you feel squeezed. i live in d.c. from colorado and it is hard to find outdoor spaces. we feel crunched together. and other periods -- and other areas in the country it is open. we are among the top five countries in the world for the remaining natural plans. only 12% is protected. there is still a lot of work we can do here in the united dates to go from where we are now to parts of wilderness areas in conservation easements and state parks we have established protect some components of our natural heritage with 60% of u.s. land in a natural condition we can make a big gains and world secure the natural

that makes sense for our kids in future generations. host: let's hear from amy from richmond, virginia. caller: hello. i am glad to see you on c-span this morning. is -- how do we make government care? all of theright now, rollbacks that are happening and ,rotection of natural resources i wanted to point out that on c-span a while back a congressperson was talking about logging in the tongass rain , he said it is time to plant trees in the neighborhoods where they have been cut down to build houses. he doesn't even realize that the tongass forest is just more than

trees, it is a habitat for all kinds of animals and plants and other natural living and you can't replace neighborhoods with a habitat such as what is in the .ongass forest how do you make politicians understand? thank you. host: thanks for your question. that is a great question. guest: that is something that i don't think anyone has cracked the code. right now, the u.s. government is trying come as it should be, to provide supplies where they are needed most and to mobilize to save lives. at the same time, congress is starting to think about how can we stimulate the economy and help with the rebuilding efforts. you see the first industries in their lobbying for help our oil and gas and coal. they want to pay no royalties on

federal lands. they are trying to get the strategic petroleum reserves. it is very real risk that in pursuing an economic stimulus plan and bailouts that congress would enact policies that would exacerbate the destruction of nature and worsen climate change. we should be doing the other thing -- a clean rebuild of the american economy that helps protect places that matter to all americans that now more than ever we want to protect so we can get outside with our families and also that we establish a better balance with nature and pursue a more ambitious you of how we can protect places at home and around the world and combat wildlife tracking -- trafficking. as we put economic stimulus in we need to transport clean energy. climate change we talked briefly about, but that is an

accelerator of all of the changes that we are talking about. we need to be thinking about rebuilding the american economy that makes us -- protects the essentials we need for life, clean air, clean water, clean energy, a stable climate. this is the opportunity to do that. amy'sjust following on comments, as the coronavirus was coming out of china, the world economic forum discussing deforestation said this, it drives wild animals out of their natural habitats and closer to human populations, creating a greater opportunity for diseases that spread from animals to humans. we will hear from scott next in hutchison, kansas. go ahead. scott -- host: scott, you are on the air. go ahead. one more time.

i am in a wildlife fire area. --, we needt need masks. there is a lot of forest out here in california. host: we will get to eric in new york. good morning. caller: thank for c-span. i was wondering if you had any comments on the possible effects of -- i will call it global warming which changes a client , if itiral goings on might step up the incubation of its or increase the chances has to try to figure out how to

co-opt us in the way that it does? climate change is a factor that is not being discussed nearly enough in my view. , scientists that track climate science globally have in their reports cautioned about the impact of climate change on pathogens and infectious diseases. one of the examples is malaria. with the change in climate, warming in that certain areas of the world, they are finding that malaria is spreading out to previous ranges and affecting more and more communities. that is something we are seeing in the u.s. with tics appearing in different places carrying lyme disease and west nile virus. it is a difficult thing to challenge and tackle, but we

have to confront climate change if we are going to get protections against these diseases. host: a headline in the u.k., we should start thinking about the next coronavirus. ira environmentalists worn that there will be more diseases like this in the future if we continue our practices of .estroying the natural worlds he has also had the capturing and eating or use of animals as pets or for food or medicine as a real problem and a cause of disease. that in termsout of the increased use of this? guest: he is absolutely right. with the covid-19, they are still trying to determine the

exact cause but it is thought to have come from china where animal carcasses are bought and sold and before that coming out of bats. the international wildlife trade and trafficking of wildlife is a major threat. the u.s. is the second largest market in the world for illegally trafficked wildlife after china. there are lots of animals and carcasses that are brought over here to the united states. the u.s. fish and wildlife is trying to crack down on wildlife trafficked to the u.s.. but we have a role to play in combating it and trying to curtail the market for illegally logged would coming out of forests. this is a problem that absolutely deserves more resources and commitment right

now. jo in we will hear from agusta. .aller: i love this program i did see where president trump trees but ior more also saw a program on pbs that when we plant, we should try to do the native plants because it affects the fauna in the area and i know that is almost impossible anymore, but as we encourage people to plant trees and things, we should try as much as we can to stick to the native plants. i wondered if you would comments -- i know that industry has a great footprint on our environment -- but also what about the illegal immigration and the huge influx of people that are coming in by the millions? thank you.

of thein terms population in the u.s., we have about 60% of the u.s. in a natural condition. there are still plenty of open spaces for us to protect, but it is about what decisions we make with those lands. will we favor oil and gas and coal? that is the paradigm for the management of federal lands in the united states right now. oil and gas and coal have priority over everything else. we should be shifting to focus on the conservation of the remaining natural lands and a transition to clean energy. the other point is about making sure that as we pursue forestry and planting of trees that we do it in the right way is spot on. you can't just plant any tree anywhere to be beneficial.

but we are talking about a meaningful treeplanting initiative which involves returning forests and places in the united states that used to be covered by forest but were cut down at some point. so planting forests and return them to health is also critically not worsening the damage and pursuing deforestation policies in places that are important. we talked about the tongass forest. it is in the crosshairs right now of a logging program that has been proposed and cutting down the oldest in the united states at a moment when we need those trees for climate absorption and natural services they provide, so the first thing we can do to help sustain trees is to make better decisions about logging and avoiding logging in the wrong places. host: a report has called the green squeeze, america's major crisis.

is thet lee-ashley senior fellow at the center for american progress. thank you for being with us. guest: thank you. host: heritage foundation director of policy studies marie will talk about telehealth services during coronavirus. yesterday it is said that the peak is expected in mid june in so why sheand talk hasn't issued a stay-at-home order. of questions from people of why i don't shut down every single business in our state. [video clip] if i were to put in those measures, we need to be able to sustain them. if i put those measures in place, you need to be able to do that until october.

the end of october is the date that you would need to do that in order to make sure we got through the covid-19 virus spread through the state of south dakota. the reason is the longer you put in mitigation measures, the more you flatten the curve and bring down the number of people that will be hospitalized at one time but it also pushes the date out. this has been a constant balance and analysis that we have been looking at and analyzing is how long can people change their way of life and how long can they stay-at-home and how long can children stay out of school and how long before we don't have any businesses left to employ people and help them put food on tables and how long can we keep people out of south dakota or not let any south dakotans leave our state? if i put those measures in place today i want to be honest and candid with you and that would mean you would have to sustain the activity and shelter at home and not leave and not have our

businesses open and have our borders closed until october. so know that the more mitigation measures would put in place the longer it will take for us to get through this current situation that we have. the plan today is the ones that reflect the chart i have in front of you. it gives us the capacity to take care individuals to make sure we have health care and doctors and nurses in the equipment we need to help people. it is a very serious situation. a lot of people will have mild to no symptoms but there are people who will got very sick. our people who will not get better. we are going to do all that we can to help every south dakota and their family help get through this difficult situation and make sure it is a plan we can follow through on and complete and will help us come out on the others. clockpan has round the coverage of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, and it's all available on demand at

c-span.org/coronavirus. watch white house briefings, updates from governors and state officials, track the spread throughout the u.s. and the world with interactive maps. watch on-demand any time, unfiltered at c-span.org/coronavirus. >> "washington journal" continues. host: marie fishpaw atthe director of studies the heritage foundation. we are focusing on the use of telemedicine and telehealth. conversation,e define those terms. guest: telemedicine is the use of any technology, say a phone call or a videoconference call to talk to a medical practitioner to do something to make you feel better.

it could be that you have the flu, you are not feeling well and don't want to go to the doctor's office so you give them a call over a videoconferencing app and they talk to you and treat you. telehealth is more broad, it could be that you need a prescription refill, you email and work out three mall without seeing them. is telehealthne but not all telehealth is telemedicine. host: is a very simple thing from having your pharmacy call you and text you that your prescription is ready, right? guest: that is a common use and more broader use at this point. to the pharmacy, they will text you to come in. host: the importance of telemedicine was boosted in the $2 trillion care's act. part of it says that the new

cares law provides temporary relief for telehealth and high deductible health plans allowing coverage for telehealth services without plan member costs before deductibles are met. these changes come at the heels of the inspector general's announcement to provide waivers and allow providers to waive cost-sharing for telehealth services very tell us why that is important. why do you think the administration included that in the request for this package. flurrythere has been a of what i would call regulatory relief action by policymakers to clear away any underbrush, if you will, of government policy that is getting in the way of people using telehealth and telemedicine, particularly during this pandemic. the examples you cited are two of them. there are so many it is almost hard to keep up. a really big one that will matter a lot is that the administration decided that if

anybody is a medicare or medicaid to see a doctor regardless of where that doctor is located that matters a lot because telemedicine is something where you can call the doctor and see them anywhere. i live in d.c., for example, and i sometimes talk to doctors over the phone or video chats in d.c., but when they are closed for the day, i get routed to a san francisco doctor. that is why regulatory relief adders because if you live in a state or if you are medicare, you were limited to seeing a doctor in a state where you live. these other kinds of small things that get into the way of people accessing care when they need it. one of the impressive things about this is how much everybody is coming together on both sides of the aisle and congress and the administration to try to figure out what they can do to remove any barrier that might

get into the way of a patient a doctor using telemedicine. host: he wrote a piece last in the headline is, the goal of telehealth is here thanks to the , you write that only nine have license related to telehealth that allow an out license medical professional or rendered services using telehealth." why is that significant question t? guest: it limits those who want telemedicine. can work with him whether he will person you live in it that has allowed you to do that they are not located in years can't work with them. and if you are working with a that might be national, you're not able to doctor because your state that you can't. , this is aal areas

problem because they don't have enough doctors in the first. thinkre that states -- i it has been interesting to watch in the past few weeks there is a growing awareness of how this may hinder seeing a doctor through telemedicine and a desire to act. we are seeing some governors take margins action, not all yet , but certainly something we would encourage any state policy maker to look at and take action on. host: our guest is marie fishpaw of policy studies from heritage foundation. we welcome your comments for those in the eastern, (202) 748-8000, mountain and pacific time zones is (202) 748-8001, and we also welcome medical professionals. that line is (202) 748-8002.

what kind of challenges does using telehealth present for hipaa requirements or other privacy concerns? guest: any time you communicate with a doctor you want to know that the technology they are using is actually going to be compliant. the cares act that you mentioned earlier that congress passed in the last couple of weeks took some steps to call for making sure that the steps we are taking to make telemedicine easier had in fact and privacy protected. most of the technology being used seems to be have a protected. -- be protected. .- be hipaa protected a physical therapist set one up last week and felt confident that it is hipaa protected.

these are considerations to take. just as with any phone call you make or any call you make video, you want to know that the only person you are talking to is the person on the other end. host:'s soundbite for many medical practices that their main points of triage or first contact, and particularly with covid-19, is not an in office visit. they want to do a phone or a video online assessment of you for you make any move to come to the office or go to the emergency room, correct? guest: that is right. we have seen so many news stories over the past week of the doctor saying please do not come in and please use our telemedicine and let us triage you. that makes sense on a lot of levels. it makes sense for you as a patient. if you are feeling symptoms are not feeling symptoms, the last thing you need to do if you need to see a doctor is goat near that doctor's office and other

people who are sick. they want to make sure they are routing you to the correct facility. if you have covid, they want to send you to a different place and not heavy with others and put them at risk. it is suited to the kinds of sacrifices we are being suited -- asked to make by staying at home. it is a good way to enable that while making sure you get the care you need. it is not just the people who think they might have covid who are coming down with the flu or something like that, it can be for people with chronic conditions and need to check in regularly. for example, people who need to see a psychologist. they can work with that psychologist over the phone without putting themselves at risk by leaving home. host: what have medical associations and doctors group, the american medical association and others, said broadly about the use of telemedicine and telehealth? guest: dr. seem to be

enthusiastic. if you look at the news reports -- doctors seem to be enthusiastic. if you look at news reports or even talk to a doctor, that is why i am excited you have a call in line to talk to doctors, there has been such an overwhelming reaction to setting things up. one knock i spoke to this past week said that 40% of his colleagues had been using telemedicine -- one doctor i spoke to this past week said that 40% of his colleagues had been using telemedicine before covid and that changed in a week. one practice didn't use it at all. hadrding to a news report, 1500 visits a week and they set it up in 24 hours. host: let's get to calls good heard from mac in old town, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning.

and here ins old maryland, i would love to have telemedicine. there is no way i can do it. -- trump andhave , talkedresident obama about us all getting high-speed and advanced self-service. i don't even have cell phone service here good i don't have high-speed internet and i am on satellite internet, but that does not do it. i can't go on skype. i had a doctor call me and say go on skype. i go on skype, it doesn't work. can somebody do something to get us high-speed internet and cell phone service? my government representative says i don't limit a rule area. ral area. he is nuts.

host: marie? guest: at least in the near term, if you have a phone, you can call your doctor. it is in the same if you have a video conference but you can speak to them. this is one of the regulatory barriers the trump administration cleared out of the way for medicare patients, making it clear you can call your doctor and your doctor can get paid for treating you over the phone. ifger-term, a lot of people you have a cell phone for iphone, that is one possibility. but one of the questions that will come out of this pandemic when you look back at lessons learned is -- do we have the systems in place to make sure that people can get care? you mentioned you are in a rural area, and that is one area that medicare cleared out of the way and they said they will pay a doctor for you to talk to them from the comfort of your home guard us of where you live.

-- your home regardless of where you live. hear from jc in california. caller: good morning. i just want to give my opinion because i just recently started having phone calls with my doctors peered i have chronic conditions and one of them is a doctor. yesterday, i had an appointment doctor and it was speaking through the phone like i am right now. it was so impersonal and lasted one minute. the conversation was over and i

felt like i didn't have the time to speak my mind or ask any questions. my question is to the lady, respectfully speaking, they are trying to say with all the new things coming out is the new normal. whosomebody it like me sometimes would like to speak face-to-face with a professional, do we have to get calling or do we have the right to actually see our doctors face-to-face? thank you. host: ok. guest: i think you put your finger on something important, which is that telemedicine can help and obviously we have all had interactions with doctors that were too brief and that can happen in person or over the phone. some of this is just making sure that we are connecting with the right doctor, which is independent how you talk to them.

whether this is the new norm and we are only going to see our doctors online, certainly not. like i view telemedicine is a good supplement, it cannot fully replace in person. sometimes you call a friend or you text a friend or you video call them. if it is your mom, you do all three, but it does replacing them in person. you needed -- we are human and are social creatures and need to be around people. at a time when we are being asked to social distance art when it doesn't make sense to go into the office, it is a great supplement and told that can be help to people. catch 22 andbe a telehealth in rural areas. on this program, we have done a number of discussions about the ral medical centers

and hospitals, and you are faced with the technology gap in some have internet not service -- how do you think that gets resolved? guest: i think it gets resolved in a couple of ways. says 75%y pew research of americans are using broadband, but many americans this went to use the phones. some of this is just making sure people have the right underlying tools to be able to access this technology. some of the regulatory changes that have been made in recent weeks have made it easier, this doesn't work perfectly, but if you want to go to a community set up access the technology there, there are protocols that can be put in place to make sure that happens. we have vicki next call

from tiffin, ohio. asler: i would like to say far as the telemedicine, i am all for it. i think it is good as far as if you don't have any major problems or whatever, it will keep you from getting a bug from someone else or whatever. so i think it is great. i wanted to ask -- do you know or can you tell me anything as far as all this is going on, do you have any idea about our dental care and how we are going to face that issue? that is good question. the ability to see a dentist over the phone is quite limited. dentists have, you -- some

of this has to do with protocols that doctors are putting in place. that seems to be highly varied. telemedicine, while good for are notngs, dentists one of them. host: is said that telemedicine might be good for quick check ins to supplement what many are seen to boost their bottom line. what do you think? guest: it is interesting way of thinking about it. , sometimes costs telemedicine cost less in a regular come in person visit. there is an example that i am telemedicinehat visits will cost $50 and some reflects different resources being used. the insurance companies have asked people to use telemedicine during the pandemic because they

want to triage people based on their first line of defense in terms of people getting sick. of, you mentioned dding their bottom line, i think of this as differently, what is more convenient for the patient? there are circumstances, pandemic side, it is not more -- it is a lot more convenient to see a doctor online. when moms are people who work have to go see the doctor, you lose time. if you are a mom, you have to bundle the kids up and you make it the other kids sick taking them in. there are advantages that go beyond the dollar figure. host: we are joined by madeline on our line for medical professionals calling from wayne, pennsylvania. caller: i have practiced in this area for 30 years and i would

like to say, and maybe you have already discussed it, about cost-effectiveness. for patients who are medicare and medicaid living in health care facilities, many times the cost to get them to the subspecialists, they have been discharged readily from a university setting or a community hospital, very expensive. and the frustration level of the facility having to hire a companion at times, tying up ambulance transport, arrival of people in the waiting area on a gurney. possibly on their way back from the visit being stranded on the expressway depending on the day you have to understand that this is a great thing that has occurred and we will learn from it. it is called effective and the caretaker, the one receiving

orders, south or a nurse, and implement the treatment plan more readily without the frustration. bring thised to awareness that i hope this will last and and we will learn from what we are going through. host: thank you for sharing your experience. guest: that is a great experience. it is great to hear from medical providers because one of the things that has been so important in making telemedicine more available is providers and medical practitioners share their experiences and sharing with policymakers and regulators what is getting in the way of them being able to adopt this technology. we are in a time of pretty significant shifts and changes. the possibilities that might come out of this, we haven't begun to imagine at this point.

about,hnology we talked which is primarily videoconferencing, but there are other tools out there and are not adopted as widely but they do amount -- allow patients who are sick and did a lot of checking up, if you will, to do more of that at home. there is a device that can connect to a smart phone to let some and take an ekg from home. we can imagine a lot more uses. ear infections are a common thing that moms have to deal with. every time you have to go to the doctor to check that out, it is a big pain. can imagining that a company could put a little camera in your child's ear to see if they have an infection. to bessibilities are yet fully explored, but probably endless. william in melbourne, florida. caller: i would like to know,

lastong is it going to -- thethe: pandemic covid pandemic? ort: is as a temporary thing the beginning of broader use of telemedicine? in twoi think of it ways. most of the relief i have been talking about is tied to the pandemic. so congress and the administration largely made this temporary in order to make sure that people could use this in this time of crisis and unprecedented change. it begs the question like the color was saying of what comes next. in my view, what should come next is making most if not all of this permanent and probably going further. we talked a bit earlier about some of the barriers that still

remain. so there are things that states can do and things that feds can do to clear away barriers. in my view, we should make it permanent. we want to have this be it technology people can rely on going forward. there are so many uses right now and uses far beyond that. host: the cdc has called on health care facilities, hospitals, to adopt telemedicine to protect patients and staff at many large hospitals that are facing and racing to implement those guidances from the cdc. how are things coming, do you know? guest: they have been amazing. doctors have been asked to do so much so weekly. ,here isn't really hard data because it is too soon to get that, but if you open the newspaper or talk to your doctor, there is so much going on so quickly. some doctors have just been

setting up practices in 48 hours and some in a week. the usage has really exploded. one telemedicine company said their use of their services grew 50% over the month before. ofse are just examples statistics. one said they did 10 million minutes of visits in one day after they opened up a practice. it has been an overwhelming response and clearly a desire to do it and recognition by providers and medical providers of the value. it is something that has been set up quickly and is really impressive to see how people, when they needed to come up with something, they came up with it quickly. host: there is reporting on the downside of that with a headline of search in patients overwhelms telehealth services and they say it is stressing telehealth providers and the technical

infrastructure. arizona.next in good morning. concern is, i took care of aids patients for probably 15 years, and it was an ongoing problem. at this time, what do we do if ?ou do have this new virus is it a disease i will have to deal with for the rest of my life? marie fishpaw, it might be a lot of your area of expertise, but do you want to answer the question? but i i am not a doctor, would suggest you check out the cdc. written a lot about this. i would direct you to resources.

my understanding is the answer is no, but i do not want to speak out of turn. host: we go to in vermont. welcome. caller: good morning and thank you. disclosure, i have been in the telemedicine business for four years and until now, people were not listening. we have to understand that they are overwhelmed now. health care companies and state governments love the savings. are getting a little confused, can you mute verio volume and -- mute your volume and had. -- and go ahead. host: mike in vermont, are you still there? go ahead with your comment. i think you are still on the line. i think we lost him. it would have been nice to hear from a telehealth provider. we will go to hillsboro, new jersey. knowr: what i wanted to

and i think this is important, since the covid virus has hit new york city and new york state and new jersey the hardest i believe so far, are those governors, governor cuomo and gov. murphy, have the opted into the program of the idea that medicaid and medicare and private health insurers will cover the telemedicine? if they are not in, how is it going to be covered by telemedicine? guest: i think the answer is sort of twofold. ofyou are on medicare, a lot regulatory barriers have been removed and they keep removing them as we find them. you can use that the one of your choice. if you live in those states and the doctor who you would access normally has set up a practice, you should be able to access that.

the question of whether these governors have allowed you to , i doctors in other states don't want to answer that, because i am not completely sure . i can direct you to do -- direct you to the telemedicine administration. they are tracking all of the changes. these things are changing so quickly that what is true today might not be true tomorrow. it seems like policymakers across the spectrum, whether at the state level, federal government, congress, has recognized the need to do this and want to. host: it may be early, but is there any data on any polling on patients' response to the use of telemedicine? are they happy with it? guest: there are two ways of looking at it, what are they doing before the pandemic and what are they doing now? data before show that if you

used telemedicine, you generally liked it. one study out of massachusetts said that 90% of patients who tried it really enjoyed it and wanted to keep using it. we see another survey that said 80% of people once they started using it look for doctors that have a practice. that is pre-pandemic. during the pandemic, i think unfolding.e one thing we will probably see is people who were using this before were largely millennials. these are the people, and this makes sense because this is the group that are on their phone anyway. this has opened up other groups of people to looking at using the tool. we keep hearing the conversation today about how many people are using it and that the demand is beyond the ability in some cases of doctors to meet it. the feeling people have about it post pandemic to become known in

the weeks ahead. host: will we see or have we seen the development of an area of specialty? as a doctor or nurse or telemedicine professional, someone trained specifically to work in this format? guest: that is an interesting way to look at it. there are companies who just do telemedicine. they have telemedicine practices and they will refer you on if needed. what i think is really interesting is doing more than just your face-to-face visit to talk about something that needs a quick check. the possibilities going forward have to deal with specialty care being delivered through telemedicine. there are ways to monitor diabetes. you can get a blood test now at

home and have that sent in and get the results by email. lots of possibilities to change how we are delivering care we need to receive. host: we will go to robert in oklahoma. my comment is -- i think that telemedicine is a great idea. here in oklahoma, often times when we go to see a physician, we are primarily uninsured here anyway, so we go to urgent care and see a nurse practitioner. if we could outsource our health care to the big call centers, there are a lot of doctors in india that could man the phone lines and just do telemedicine for the u.s. a lot of businesses, like engineering firms and things like that are outsourcing our engineering right now. we have engineers on the payroll

in india and you could pay those people a lot less and pay doctors a lot less in india. in general, their work ethic is astounding. they are just machines. idea.k it is a great i think we should explore it, because health care in this country is certainly not affordable at this moment. host: robert, thanks. marie fishpaw? telemedicine offers people to see a doctor no matter where they are located. the great things about the u.s. is the advanced nature of the quality. we want to make sure that everyone can see a doctor that is providing quality care, regardless of where they might be located. caller hit on a point about being able to save money by seeing a doctor online. caredoctors, you can get

and increase choices that might be more cost-effective. host: you mentioned millennials being comfortable on the screens all of the time. the story today in the "new york times," the screens one and we tried everything to stop staring at our devices, but now bring on the zoom cocktail hour. in terms of the use of not just telemedicine, but videos whether it's zune or other proprietary technology for medical practices, what can we look for? guest: that is a great way of putting it. blessing. is a mixed you have to make it work for you. your screento use to see a doctor and connect with someone, whether a friend or family member, these are all good things. the more that we can -- we think

about steps to make that possible -- the more policymakers can clear away regulatory underbrush adding in the way of people making decisions that work for them thet how to see a doctor, better off we will be. host: let's go to virginia. theer: my call is about, young lady mentioned that telemedicine, the doctors will be in companies. when you say companies and i hear that the person is working on the guidelines and constraints of the company, this doesn't allow them to do practice freely as they normally would do in their office. i think they would be more able withe their intellect touch, feel, smell, if they are with the patient. these are things that professionals use when they are with patients.

granted for some, maybe just a call to get prescription renewed or something like that, i can see it, but to use telemedicine for everything i think is preposterous. host: some final thoughts. guest: i think telemedicine -- it is a great question. telemedicine is a tool among many but will not replace seeing people in person. it can augmented and make things easier for people who can't go into the office as easily. but ashley wright, we will still need to talk to people -- but absolutely right, we will need to talk to people. we are humans and we will need to talk to and touch people. when it makes sense for telemedicine, it is a great tool to enhance that relationship. marie fishpaw, thank you

for being with us. guest: my pleasure. host: that will wrap up the program. we hope you are back at 7:00 tomorrow morning. until then, stay healthy. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ changed sincehas c-span began 41 years ago, but our mission continues to provide an unfiltered view of government. already this year we have brought your primary election coverage, the presidential impeachment process, and now the federal response to the coronavirus. c-span watch all of

public affairs programming on television, online, or listen on our free c-span radio app. be part of our conversation through the free c-span washington journal program, or through our social media scene. c-span, created by private america's cable television company as a public service, and brought to you today by your solution provider. today, president trump and members of the coronavirus task force hold a briefing on the federal government's response to the pandemic. we will have live coverage of the briefing schedule to start at 3:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. on friday, a number of the nation's governors held briefing on their states responses to coronavirus. coming up, what they are doing to combat the coronavirus pandemic. ofing up, governor scott

vermont, followed by the governor of pennsylvania. gov. scott: good morning, everyone. we will start today with an update from our commissioner of health, dr. levine. dr. levine: good morning, all. we will start with a quick update and couple comments on two topics. -- facilities and masks. yesterday's lab brought 51 new positive results, followed by