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."
New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney was seated behind Prof. Christine Blasey Ford during her Senate testimony last week. The lawmaker, who was seen crying as Ford spoke, said, "It's so sad to me that this is still happening in America...and that in some ways we haven't made that much progress since Ms. Hill testified 26 years ago."
Canada and the U.S. inked a new trade deal late Sunday evening after months of contentious tariff talks between the two allies. Lauren Gardner, reporter for POLITICO Pro Canada, said the trade agreement will benefit dairy farmers and automakers in the U.S.
California became the first state to mandate that publicly held corporations include women on the board. Some people believe that this will prioritize diversity over merit while others, like Asa Regner, deputy executive director for UN Women, say it's a first step toward gender parity in corporate America.
After the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, Sarah Ullman felt called to action. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker is the founder of "One Vote at a Time," a Super PAC created to stop gun violence. She spends her days making free campaign ads for politicians who support gun control policies and are running in competitive districts.
A new documentary about campaign finance is coming to PBS on Monday. "Dark Money" explores the relationship between corporate spending and politics and how the laws have changed to allow more influence in the political arena. Kimberly Reed, the director and producer of the film, said that it is crucial to American democracy for its citizens to know who is trying to influence politics.
Robert Gaafar is one of the survivors of the Las Vegas shooting a year ago, and he is now partnering with Everytown to help launch a new election initiative. Gaafar said the progress on gun control in state and local races is heartening, even if the federal government remains unable or unwilling to do anything.
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After nearly two weeks of resistance, President Trump ordered an FBI investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, whose future seat on the nation's highest court had been suddenly thrown into doubt thanks to the wavering support of Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).
In a dramatic reversal, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who said earlier Friday that he would vote "Yes" to move the Kavanaugh vote to the Senate floor, said at the afternoon hearing that he would only move forward with a Senate floor vote if there was an additional FBI investigation.
Shares of the social media giant dropped sharply after the company said it found hackers were able to gain control of as many as 50 million user accounts. Facebook's Product Management VP Guy Rosenberg said the attack affected the "View As" feature, which lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else.
