The Trump administration announced plans Friday to speed up coronavirus testing, introducing an emergency hotline for companies and private laboratories developing quicker tests and seems on a path to a multi-billion-dollar federal plan with Congress amid reports the president will declare a national emergency later today.
"I hope he does it, it's the right thing to do, it will free up states and local communities to act more aggressively," Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif. 7th District) told Cheddar on Friday.
The administration is catching up to warnings health officials have been making for weeks about the United States's lack of preparedness for what is now a pandemic. Bera, a physician himself, said the new measures will allow community health centers taking care of Medicaid patients to be reimbursed for telemedicine.
"If you can manage [sick patients] using technology, using telehealth, telemedicine and they can stay at home, that is actually a good thing, that will help slow the spread," he said.
Though telemedicine may help treat patients without potentially infecting those they come in contact with, a lack of test kits will impede physicians’ ability to track patients.
"What I’ve suggested to the administration is, look, if South Korea can do it, pick up the phone, call the Korean company that’s making these tests and see if you can’t just license those tests and get it sent over here if it’s taking so long for us to do it," he said.
While health workers attempt to slow the spread of the virus, politicians are still at work on a bill, which appeared to hit a roadblock today over disagreements about paid sick leave. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been negotiating the plan, which House Democrats are expected to vote on today.
"We're told that they're pretty close," Bera said. "Workers, families, those hourly wage folks, they're going to be hurt immediately. This is America, we don't let people fall down like that."
John Lewis was celebrated as an American hero during his funeral as former President Barack Obama and others called on people to follow Lewis’ example and take action in the face of injustice.
Statues commemorating the Confederacy are being torn down across America as a result of racial unrest following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But the largest monument in the country has been left out of the conversation: Stone Mountain monument in Georgia. The 42-foot-deep, 76-by-158 foot carving of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson sits on the face of the world’s largest piece of exposed granite. Removing it could require bitter political debate and a year-long demolition. But for most, the racist history it represents is too hard to ignore.
Unemployment claims rise for the second week as states reverse course on reopenings amid spikes in coronavirus cases. Tyler Goodspeed, acting chairmain of White House council of economic advisers, talks current standing of the economy.
Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has died after battling the coronavirus. He was 74.
President Donald Trump is for the first time floating a “delay” to the Nov. 3 presidential election, as he makes unsubstantiated allegations that increased mail-in voting will result in fraud.
Four Big Tech CEOs are fending off accusations of stifling competition in front of a congressional panel that is investigating market dominance in the industry.
Cheddar takes a look at some key differences between proposals by Republicans and Democrats on the next phase of economic stimulus amid the pandemic crisis.
The Federal Reserve expressed concern Wednesday that the viral outbreak will act as a drag on the economy and hiring in the coming months and said it plans to keep its benchmark short-term interest rate pegged near zero.
Cheddar delves into the differences on approaches toward economic recovery and business between the House Democrats and the Senate Republicans.
Attorney General William Barr is defending the aggressive federal law enforcement response to civil unrest in America, saying “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police.
