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."
Between Bells: Californians lining up for recreational marijuana, Hollywood's A-List women say 'Time's Up' on workplace harassment, and can Dems get a DACA deal? We're joined by Fast Company, Cannabis Culture, Bossip.com, TechnoBuffalo, Conservative Review and more.
Jodie Emery, Editor-in-Chief of Cannabis Culture, says that "the federal government would be hard-pressed to really ignore" the legalization of adult-use pot in the Golden State.
Recreational marijuana is officially legal in California. This makes it the sixth state to go green after Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Nevada, and Colorado. Governor John Hickenlooper (D-CO) shares his lessons from the legalization and regulation of marijuana in his state for California.
Even though California's recreational Marijuana law went into effect today, much of the country still does not have medical or recreational legalization. On top of that, the Federal government's laws are vastly different from states that have legalized. Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and he joins Cheddar to give his take on how legalization will progress from here.
Even with California, the sixth biggest economy in the world, legalizing pot, incongruities in state and federal law hinder growth in the marijuana market. That's according to Paul Armentano, Deputy Director at NORML.
President Trump has returned from his holiday in Florida and is officially back to work. Congress is back in session tomorrow and there is a lot to get done. Lawmakers will be voting on many items like immigration, disaster relief, and more. Will the two sides of the aisle be able to work together, or will divisions hinder Washington?
The governor says Colorado learned that properly packaging edibles helps keep pot away from children.
Congress is heading back to work with a packed agenda ahead of the looming government shutdown. CRTV's Nate Madden and The Democratic Coalition's Jarad Geldner join Cheddar's roundtable to discuss what awaits lawmakers when they get back from their holiday break.
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President Donald Trump gave an impromptu with the New York Times Washington Correspondent Michael Schmidt at his Mar-A-Lago property Thursday. Alexander Heffner, Host of PBS' "The Open Mind," explains what this interview says about the relationship between Trump and the media.
