Current Events > Warren introduces bill to redirect Wall money to combat coronavirus

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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/484933-warren-introduces-bill-to-redirect-wall-money-to-coronavirus

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced legislation on Thursday to redirect border wall funding to combating the coronavirus.

The bill, according to Warrens office, would result in approximately $10 billion being shifted from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Rather than use taxpayer dollars to pay for a monument to hate and division, my bill will help ensure that the federal government has the resources it needs to adequately respond to this emergency, the 2020 Democratic hopeful said in a statement.

The White House has suggested $2.5 billion to combat the coronavirus, while Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is requesting $8.5 billion.

What number lawmakers will end up at as they negotiate on a supplemental bill remains unclear.

The United States government must do more to address the spread of the deadly coronavirus in a smart, strategic, and serious way and we stand ready to work in a bipartisan fashion in Congress and with the administration to achieve this necessary goal, Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Thursday in a joint statement.

Lives are at stake this is not the time for name-calling or playing politics, they added.

Top Republicans including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) have also indicated that they want a higher number than the initial White House offer.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) characterized the White House figure as an initial request.

Its our job to ensure that funding is not a limiting factor as public health leaders and front-line medical professionals continue getting ready, he said.

The haggling over funding comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday announced the first case of coronavirus in the United States with an unknown origin.

President Trump, meanwhile, has announced that Vice President Pence will oversee the governments effort to combat the coronavirus.

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Very good, use that money on something that will actually help protect Americans.

LoDsdeath posted...

Very good, use that money on something that will actually help protect Americans.

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LoDsdeath posted...

Very good, use that money on something that will actually help protect Americans.

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shockthemonkey posted...

Seems like a pretty good use for that money

Yeah but the GOP's gonna be like "You can't do that without Congressional approval!", of course completely forgetting they had no issues with Trump previously diverting this money from the military without Congressional approval.
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Let's pointlessly politicize the funding to combat a potential pandemic when both parties were already in the process of working out how much money is needed.

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The White House and Trump have already politicized it though
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s0nicfan posted...

Let's pointlessly politicize the funding to combat a potential pandemic when both parties were already in the process of working out how much money is needed.

Why are you so upset? She's offering a plan to redistribute money to help do something that will help American citizens. She has a plan and is explaining how it will be paid for...why does that seem to make you so upset?

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VipaGTS posted...

Why are you so upset? She's offering a plan to redistribute money to help do something that will help American citizens. She has a plan and is explaining how it will be paid for...why does that seem to make you so upset?

Listen, I get that you're thrilled she can troll Trump with a bill like this, but don't pretend you're so stupid as to not understand exactly what she's doing.

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s0nicfan posted...

Listen, I get that you're thrilled she can troll Trump with a bill like this, but don't pretend you're so stupid as to not understand exactly what she's doing.

So do you think its a good idea to temporarily move money from the wall to combat an immediate potential threat or do you think it should come from somewhere else? if not, where do you think the funds for it should come from?

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Redhats: Democrats created the coronavirus to stop Dear Leader Donald Jesus Trump's Great Wall!

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s0nicfan posted...

Let's pointlessly politicize the funding to combat a potential pandemic when both parties were already in the process of working out how much money is needed.

Where should the money come from?

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Like even Republicans are already wondering what the fuck the Admin is doing

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/25/trump-officials-defend-coronavirus-request-117329

The Republican chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee at Azar's hearing accused the administration of making a low ball request.

It could be an existential threat to a lot of people in this country, warned Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). So money should not be an object. We should try to contain and eradicate this as much as we can, both in the U.S. and helping our friends all over the world.

At the homeland security budget hearing, Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) criticized Wolf for not providing enough information about risks from the outbreak. "You're supposed to keep us safe, and the American people deserve some straight answers on the coronavirus, and I'm not getting them from you, Kennedy said.

At the hearing, Wolf incorrectly told Kennedy that the death rate from the coronavirus is similar to that of the flu, when actually the coronavirus appears to be much more lethal.

Trump, who has sought to downplay the coronavirus risk, during a press conference in India Tuesday appeared to claim that the United States was very close on a coronavirus vaccine. However, Republican and Democratic senators after the briefing said a vaccine, under the best scenario, was at least a year to 18 months away. The White House later said the president was referring to the Ebola vaccine, which the FDA approved two months ago.

Not to mention appointing Pence to head this is untold levels of bullshit.
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Bio1590 posted...

Trump, who has sought to downplay the coronavirus risk, during a press conference in India Tuesday appeared to claim that the United States was very close on a coronavirus vaccine. However, Republican and Democratic senators after the briefing said a vaccine, under the best scenario, was at least a year to 18 months away. The White House later said the president was referring to the Ebola vaccine, which the FDA approved two months ago.

"We're very close to a vaccine for this disease completely unrelated to the one I spent the rest of this conference talking about"

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This is a great "fuck you" to Trump, and getting the resources to combat the coronavirus is just the icing on the cake

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Closing the borders would actually help. Like it's helped Russia.

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Tired-Insomniac posted...

"We're very close to a vaccine for this disease completely unrelated to the one I spent the rest of this conference talking about"

Not only that, one of the proposals is diverting money away from Ebola for this, rather than just like, taking it from elsewhere.

Also remember Trump's proposed budget has massive healthcare-relates budget cuts.
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Nah. The Wall's more important. Coronavirus has more hype and panic than actual results.

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LoDsdeath posted...

Very good, use that money on something that will actually help protect Americans.

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Bio1590 posted...

Yeah but the GOP's gonna be like "You can't do that without Congressional approval!", of course completely forgetting they had no issues with Trump previously diverting this money from the military without Congressional approval.

Which is why it's kind of a stupid thing to do.

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Knowledge_King posted...

Nah. The Wall's more important. Coronavirus has more hype and panic than actual results.

Do you really think a wall is going to keep someone out if they really want to come here?

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Because thing we want in an epidemic is border security..........

Yeah.