Coronavirus has hit Capitol Hill, as the first members of Congress have tested positive for the virus.
Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah) announced diagnoses late Wednesday. Diaz-Balart’s office said he had developed symptoms Saturday evening and was notified Wednesday of a positive test. Both had voted on the House floor as recently as Saturday morning, to pass the coronavirus relief bill.
Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah (Left), Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. (Right)
At least five other members of Congress are quarantining because they had contact with the lawmakers, including Rep. Steve Scalise, the second-highest ranking Republican in the House.
Some lawmakers had been pushing for ways to vote remotely, particularly since congressional members are disproportionately in higher-risk categories for coronavirus complications. Forty-eight senators are over the age of 65, the age at which some states have recommended individuals to stay inside their homes.
Senator Dick Durban (D-Ill.) has said “it’s time for the Senate to wake up to the 21st century and make sure we’re using technology that allows us to communicate with each other without any danger or risk to public health.”
Lauren Paylor, a bartender and mixologist, most recently at Silver Lyan, a newly-opened cocktail bar in Washington, DC., talked to Cheddar about unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Thursday as investors welcomed a report showing the U.S. job market continues to climb out of the crater created by the coronavirus pandemic.
White House Economic Adviser, Tyler Goodspeed, on the June jobs report. Goodspeed also keys in the Trump administration's goal of growing jobs despite coronavirus cases spiking.
Arizona recorded more coronavirus deaths, infections and emergency-room admissions in a single day than ever before in a rapidly deepening crisis Wednesday across the Sunbelt.
Economic Policy Institute Policy Director Heidi Shierholz warns of the possible consequences if Congress allows the pandemic unemployment assistance program to expire.
