House Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeated a phrase throughout her update this morning on the latest federal response to the coronavirus: "Testing, testing, testing."
The speaker said testing is "so very important, to take inventory, to understand the epidemiological spread of the virus, and also to meet the needs of the people affected."
She confirmed that Democrats and Republicans are working closely to pass a bill today that would provide additional protections, and free testing, following an $8.3 billion aid package last week. "No one will say I can't afford it," she said.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act would ensure free coronavirus testing, paid emergency sick leave, expanded unemployment insurance, increased protections for health care workers on the frontline, and food security initiative for children while schools are closed.
The bill is currently being debated in the House, but the clock is ticking as lawmakers consider whether they should leave the capital out of an abundance of caution.
When asked if House Democrats would stick around if a deal was not made within the next two days, Pelosi insisted lawmakers would get it done.
"We don't need 48 hours. We need to make a decision to help families now," she said.
"If people have to stay home, we have to stay home, but we don't want people to panic," Pelosi added but held off from outlining further plans to address the virus.
"We're here to pass a bill. When we pass a bill, we'll make a judgment about what comes next," she said.
As an addendum to her update on the coronavirus response, the speaker chimed in on the Democratic primary race.
"In case you were going to ask, no, I don't think Bernie Sanders should get out of the race. I'm a grassroots person. I'm chair of the California Democratic Party. I know the enthusiasm of supporters of candidates, and they want to see it play out."
After General Motors announced it will be closing several plants and reducing its workforce significantly, there was bipartisan criticism from Americans and Congress. Democrat Debbie Dingell, a representative from a small suburb of Detroit, told Cheddar that she was backing out of her support for President Trump's trade policies if they meant GM jobs would be going to Mexico.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Nov. 28. 2018.
Columbus, Ohio, may not have won the bid for Amazon's HQ2, but the city isn't ready to retire its proposal quite yet. Mayor Andrew Ginther said the city's leaders plan to use their application as a road map to transform Columbus from a Midwestern destination into a national one.
A bill to legalize recreational marijuana use in New Jersey passed a panel vote, and now heads to a full vote and governor's desk. State Sen. Gerald Cardinale of New Jersey, explains why he's against it when it comes to traffic accidents and youth usage in this week's episode of Cannabiz.
Since a Supreme Court ruling in May, seven states have legalized sports betting ー and Adam Small, the CEO of gambling magazine USBets thinks Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, and Louisiana may be next.
Richard Allan, Facebook's vice president of public policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, answered inquiries from representatives of nine countries, sitting next to an empty chair left open for Zuckerberg. Early on, Allan, who is a former member of the British Parliament, admitted that the chief executive's absence was "not great."
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018.
British Prime Minister Theresa May finally garnered European Union support for her Brexit plan, but unrest at home threatens to dismantle negotiations ー and lawmakers have warned there is no plan B. "The worst case scenario for many, particularly for anyone who is a 'Remainer,' is that we leave the EU without a deal in place at all," Ayesha Javed, Deputy Editor of The Wall Street Journal's WSJ City, told Cheddar on Monday.
Former wide receiver Walter Powell Jr. played for three NFL teams over a span of four years. But now, a year into his retirement, he's decided to tackle a new challenge ー creating a more informed electorate. The athlete created a new an app, Politiscope, to educate political newcomers like Powell with a tool that "broke down politics so people like me could understand it," he told Cheddar Monday.
Just days after releasing a chilling report on climate change, the Trump administration is trying to bury its own findings. The White House released a statement trying to diminish the severity of the report's findings, saying the report is based on the most extreme possible scenario. Andrew Light, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute and one of the report's co-authors, and Matt Daily, Reporter at Politico, join Cheddar to discuss the details surrounding the report.
