Unfiltered Campaign Coverage with all of the candidates located in one place. It is free, easy to use, it is all they are at cspan. Org campaign2020. Now, 2020 democratic president ial candidate senator Bernie Sanders delivers remarks from the coronavirus pandemic by streaming video. The vermont senator outlines details of how he would address the pandemic, which he says needed at least 2 trillion in federal investment to abate medical and economic challenges facing the country. We are dealing with the coronavirus, which is spreading throughout this country and throughout the world. We are dealing with a growing economic meltdown that will impact tens of millions of workers in this country. We are dealing with a political crisis, as well. The main point to be made tonight is in this moment of crisis is imperative that we. Tand together understand that right now throughout this country, there are so many people wondering tomorrow inppen burlington, vermont. Bars have been shut down, restaurants, schools shut down. To the people who lose jobs . Those who worry they may have the coronavirus and dont have the resources to get the test they need with the treatment they need . This is a moment that we have to be working together and Going Forward together. What i wanted to do tonight with of is to talk about a series proposals we are working on right now and will introduce to the democratic leadership as to how we can best go further. Moment,unprecedented this will require an unprecedented amount of money. My own guess is we will spend at least 2 trillion in funding to prevent job losses and avoid an economic catastrophe. Posting these ideas tomorrow on our website, Bernie Sanders. Com. We certainly dont know it all. We want to hear from you. Not only your ideas on how to best go forward, talk about your experiences. In every state, there is a different level of crisis. In every occupation, theres a different level of concern. Please communicate with us so we can get the best understanding possible about whats going on in our country and how together we can come up with some effective remedies. Let me start off with the basics. And i knowspective, from all of your perspectives, we need to make certain everybody in our country who needs to go to a doctor can get the health care they need regardless of their income. This is kind of a nobrainer, something that should have happened in our country many years ago. Crisis,idst of this when i believe we must do is empower medicare to cover all medical bills during this emergency. This is not medicare for all. What this does say is if you are uninsured, if you are underinsured, if you have deductibles, high copayments, outofpocket expenses, medicare will cover those expenses so everybody, regardless of their Health Care Needs, and im not just talking about the coronavirus, but Health Care Needs in the midst of this crisis, we will get all of the health care we need. Thats what we should be doing in this moment of crisis. Make sure, furthermore, that as we go forward, we are effectively prepared to deal with the healthcare crisis we are facing. That means we need to make sure we have, the hospitals have all of the icu units and ventilators needed to respond to this crisis. The fear is there will be a surge of patients coming into the hospitals and we will not have the equipment we need to deal with that crisis. View, it is incomprehensible why in the wealthiest country on earth, we are not better prepared. View,t as it may, in my the federal government must work aggressively with the private sector to make certain this equipment is available to hospitals and the rest of the medical community. The federal government must take the responsibility of working with the private sector and saying this is a major priority, you will get the job done. Crisis, we need to mobilize medical residents, people in medical school, retired medical professionals, and other medical personnel to help us with this crisis. One of the great fears that we doctorsng right now is and nurses themselves will become ill. If our front line defense in the medical profession is injured, is made sick, is not able to treat the american people, it will only make a difficult situation even worse. This goes without saying as something that should have been done, that has to be done immediately, we must massively increase the availability of coronavirus, and the speed at which the tests are processed. To the successful coronavirus testing models in other country and throughout our own country, and implement best practices here. Right now, there are communities in states all of his country that dont have test kits taking too long because of the results. We have to aggressively address that. In my view, we need to use existing Emergency Authority under the defense production act to dramatically scale up production in the u. S. Of critical supplies such as masks, ventilators, and protective equipment that our healthcare workers need. It is quite unbelievable, but we have a short supply of masks. And if doctors and nurses dont have the masks they need, it is going to be difficult to provide the care that patients require. We need to utilize the national guard, the army corps of engineers, and other military resources to deal with this crisis. Today, our Armed Forces Must be immediately activated to build mobile hospitals and testing facilities. Assist providers, reopen hospitals that have been shut down, and expand our Health Care Capacity in underserved areas. One of the ongoing crisis our Health Care System faces, many parts of this country under the best of times, people cant find a doctor, or a hospital is 200 miles away. That is not acceptable. We have to address that reality in this crisis. To dramatically expand Community Health centers, which provide primary care, dental care, and Mental Health care, as tol as prescription drugs nearly 30 million americans, including some of the poorest and most vulnerable. We have a primary Health Care System which is in very bad shape. Even people who have insurance are having a hard time finding doctors they need. Expanded Community Health centers will be a significant step forward in making sure there are locations where people can get the testing they need, treatment they need, health care they need, in general. While we are making sure all of our people have the health care that they need, we must als o respond to the growing economic crisis that this pandemic is causing. Suremeans we must make everyone who has a job right now receives the paychecks that they need and does not lose their income. As we speak, think about the millions of workers who are being laid off in the tourism industry, in the fast food industry, in the restaurant industry, in the transportation industry. These are folks who dont have a lot of money, as all of you know. 40 of people in the country cannot afford a 400 emergency. Some people are sitting out there and asking what they are going to do, how do they take care of their families . The government has to be the Major Economic priority we address. How do we take care of the working families of this country who are negatively impacted by this crisis . Small and mediumsize businesses, especially those in severely impacted industries, such as restaurants, bars, and local retail, need immediate relief. We must tell these businesses or in somerced to lay off, cases, their entire staff, possibly even shut down through no fault of their own, that we will not allow them to go out of business. The federal government will work with affected businesses to provide direct payroll costs for small and mediumsized businesses to keep workers employed until this crisis has passed. Thether words, bottom line, most important point is workers need to continue to get a even when their businesses are shut down. Provide ae need to direct emergency 2000 cash payment to every household in america every month for the duration of the crisis to provide them with the assistance they need to pay their bills and take care of their families. We are throwing out a lot of ideas. When you deal with the u. S. Congress, you dont get everything you want. People will not be picking and choosing. I think its important to discuss various options they have. One of those options is to make sure people at least get a 2000 a month check to take care of their basic needs. Importantly, we must make certain the government is getting this money into the hands of working families and the most vulnerable as quickly as possible. We dont want some kind of bureaucratic arrangement. We have been talking about this for weeks and months. People do not get the help they need. We must provide emergency unemployment assistance to anyone who loses their job through no fault of their own. Under the proposal i am working on, everyone who loses a job must qualify for Unemployment Compensation at 100 of their prior salary with a cap of 75,000 a year. In addition, those who depend on domestic workers, freelancers, independent must also qualify for Unemployment Insurance to make up for the income they lose during the crisis. As many of you know, other employment compensation does not cover every worker in america. There are millions of people exempt from unemployment. We have to deal with that. It doesnt matter what work you are doing. Thated to make certain people with disabilities and families with children have access to decent quality food. That means expanding the meals on wheels program, the school meals program, and food stamps, so no one goes hungry during this crisis, and everyone who cannot leave their home can receive nutritious meals delivered directly to where they live. Gets as basic as you can in america during this crisis. People must not go hungry. We must place an immediate ,oratorium on evictions foreclosures, and utility shutoffs, and suspend payment on Mortgage Loans for primary residences and utility bills. In other words, it would be unacceptable that people could lose their homes, lose their apartments, see electricity or gas shutoffs during this crisis. So there must be a moratorium on all of those in those areas. Restoreore, we must Utility Services to any customers who have had utilities shut off. In america right now, you have a dont haves who Running Water in their homes because they havent been able to pay their water bill, may not have electricity. That has to be dealt with right now. We must also provide funding de Running Water in their of the states and localities to provide rental assistance for the duration of this crisis. Need to waivee all student loan payments for the duration of the emergency. Longterm, as i think all of you know, it is my view we must cancel all student debt and make public colleges and universities and trade schools tuition free. That is the view i have held for a long time. Right now at the very least, we must make sure nobody is obliged to pay their student loan right now. Furthermore, we must ensure the homeless, survivors of domestic violence, and College Students quarantined offcampus are able to receive the shelter, health care, and nutrition they need, and connect those individuals with social services to ensure nobody is left behind. We must also utilize empty hotel beds and other Vacant Properties to ensure everyone in this country is safely housed during this crisis. Right now tonight, there are who are,000 people homeless. Some in emergency shelters, some sleeping on the street. To make sure everyone is housed during this crisis. We must protect farmers by suspending all Farm Service Agency loan payments to protect farmers during this crisis, extend Crop Insurance and emergency loans to all affected farmers, extend Rural Development loans, and expand the Emergency Food Assistance Program to alleviate hunger throughout the country and support farmers during the crisis. A major crisis, in terms of familybased agriculture in america. Thousands of family farmers are losing their farms. We have to stop that process during this emergency. We must make sure our response to this health and economic crisis is not another moneymaking opportunity for Corporate America and wall street. Let me underline that. We must make certain that this health and economic crisis is not another moneymaking opportunity for Corporate America and wall street. We need to establish an Oversight Agency to ensure no one is profiting off of the economic pain and suffering of our people in the midst of this crisis. Any emergency credit extensions or loans to insult companies or industries as a role result must come with strict protections and benefits for workers, free unions, and for customers. Not no Strings Attached handouts for large corporations and their executives. During this crisis, we will ban stock buybacks and bonuses for executives. We will put conditions on this Financial Assistance to make certain any corporation in america that benefits from emergency aid does not lay off workers, pays workers a livable wage, and does not rip off consumers. Companieske sure the that get bailouts are required to sell equity to the government and put workers on their board of directors. To prevent price gouging by pharmaceutical companies. As soon as it Coronavirus Vaccine is developed, it must be sold for free. This is not an opportunity for some Drug Companies to make a fortune by charging an outrageous price for the medicine people need in order to stay alarmed. Developediption drugs with taxpayer dollars must be sold at a reasonable price. The pharmaceutical industry must be told in no Uncertain Terms that the medicines they manufacture for this crisis will be sold at a cost. This is not the time for profiteering or price gouging. Weve covered a lot of territory tonight. This is what i would very much appreciate getting your help. Ofe again, and is an outline the poles i will introduce to the Senate Leadership and working with the democratic leadership to implement. But it is important to me to hear your comments. We will have this outline up tomorrow. A little bit clear away on Bernie Sanders. Com. Addition, we need to know what you are experiencing right now. It is hard to write proper legislation if we are not familiar with the kinds of pain and problems people all across this country are facing. Let me conclude by thanking all of you for being with us tonight. Understanding that what this country is experiencing right now is something we have never experienced in modern history of this country, a major pandemic which threatens the health and lives of millions of people, and on top of that, and economic crisis which threatens the jobs and income of many millions of people. Crises, but iajor have a strong belief that if we we do not turnif to fear and panic, but if we understand that the way we solve this is Going Forward as one people, remembering those who are hurting tonight and will be hurting in the future. This is the richest country in the history of the world, a country with unbelievable energy, unbelievable talent, with incredible resources. We can do it. We can address this crisis, minimize the pain, and let us do just that. Lets go forward together. I look forward to commit genuine to commute continuing to communicate with you, and look forward to hearing from you as to what your ideas are and what your situation is. Thank you very much for joining us this evening. Cspans washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up wednesday morning, we discuss the latest on the coronavirus, and the u. S. Response to the outbreak, with the university of marylands center for health and Homeland Security director on the federal, state, and local response. Then efforts to slow down the spread of the virus, with Population HealthProgram Director drew harris of Thomas Jefferson university. Watch cspans washington journal, live at 7 00 eastern wednesday morning. Join the discussion. During this election season, the candidates beyond the talking points are only revealed over time. But since you cant be everywhere, theres cspan. Our campaign 2020 program differs from all other political coverage for one simple reason, it is cspan. We brought you your unfiltered view of government every day since 1979, and were bringing you an unfiltered view of people seeking to steer that coverage this november. In other words, your future. Deep,lection season, go direct, and unfiltered. See the biggest picture for yourself, and make up your own mind. With cspans campaign 2020, brought to you as a Public Service by your television provider. 2020 democratic president ial candidate joe biden delivered remarks by streaming video from his home in