These Illinois lawmakers will advise Trump on reopening economy shut down by coronavirus
U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, all from Illinois, will be among the lawmakers advising President Donald Trump on reopening the economy that has been shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.
Duckworth, Durbin and Davis are part of a new, bipartisan task force.
The Democrats, Duckworth and Durbin, say the government still needs to be focused on preventing the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease.
Duckworth said specifically that testing for COVID-19 and tracing, or efforts to find people exposed to the virus, should be expanded, along with production of personal protective equipment like masks and gloves, according to a statement she released Thursday.
Davis, a Republican, is calling for additional funding to the Paycheck Protection Program. The program had been providing loans to small businesses during the pandemic, but it stopped accepting applications because it ran out of money.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth full statement:
“For the sake of the nearly 25,000 Americans who have already lost their lives to COVD-19 — and the countless more that will succumb in the weeks and months ahead — I wish Donald Trump had been as eager to prepare our country for this pandemic as he is to rush towards normalcy when his own experts are warning ‘we’re not there yet.’
“As a member of this task force, I will do everything in my power to remind Donald Trump of his responsibility to protect public health. He needs to stop blaming others for his Administration’s failures, ensure universal access to testing and vastly expand contact tracing efforts. He should more fully use the Defense Production Act as well as other authorities to bring the supply chain in line, ramp up PPE production and ensure that state and local governments have the supplies and resources they need to protect our communities.
“It is times like these that I am heartened our Constitution ensures that Governors and local authorities are the ones who will make the final decision about when it is safe to return to normal life. We all want to reach the other side of this crisis, but Donald Trump plugging his ears and ignoring science will put more Americans at greater risk and make a quick and safe recovery even harder.”
Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin full statement:
“I am honored to be asked to serve on this bipartisan Presidential task force to prepare for reopening our economy. We still have work to do to stop the spread of this virus, but we need to think in positive terms of the day America once again will be open for business.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis full statement:
“Up until last month, we had months of record-low unemployment and historic economic growth, but this pandemic has halted everything and now we need to figure out how we get through this and back to a booming economy. I believe we can start by ensuring the administration has the resources needed to continue to implement successful programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program, to help businesses now. I’m thankful for President Trump’s leadership on this and I look forward to working with the administration, this task force, and others to safely get Americans back to work and our economy back on track.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 11:55 AM.
