WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Protect Our Care held a press call on Thursday to discuss the president’s coronavirus response and how his failure to adequate prepare America for this public health crisis makes us less safe.

On the seriousness of the moment, Murphy said: “In many ways, this is the moment that a lot of us have worried about. A true public health threat presented to the country that this president was not ready to meet. From the very beginning, this administration has not taken coronavirus seriously enough.”

Murphy also spoke about the supplemental funding package that Congress is set to pass today: “This is certainly a moment to come together. Republicans and Democrats need to be working hand in hand to make sure that our health care system has everything that it needs in order to test, identify, and treat people. And that's why I’m proud that today we're going to pass an eight billion dollar emergency funding package with broad bipartisan agreement that is going to make sure that we have the funding necessary to develop a vaccine, that we have the money necessary to develop treatments, that local public health professionals aren't left holding the bag financially, and that we’re deployed overseas to make sure that this disease is confronted on a global basis.”

On the administration’s initial response to the coronavirus, Murphy also said: “I begged the administration in the early days of this crisis to come to Congress and ask for supplemental funding. They didn't do that. In fact, in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, they didn't believe they needed any additional funding. Then when they finally came to Congress, they asked for an amount of money that just didn't do the job: one and a half billion dollars.”

Murphy also spoke about the administration’s health care sabotage at a time when Americans are most vulnerable with coronavirus: “[S]tanding next to their… lacking response to the epidemic is their campaign to take health care insurance away for millions of Americans. You know, a million people in this country that had health care a few years ago, don't have it today because of the president’s sabotage campaign.”

Murphy joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday to discuss the president’s mishandling of the coronavirus. Earlier this week, Murphy questioned Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Stephan Hahn on the emerging threat of coronavirus and what officials are doing in response. Murphy also pressed U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar on the administration’s coronavirus response and slammed the Trump administration’s recent emergency funding request to protect from the coronavirus epidemic that was sent to Congress. Murphy also joined other senators in pressing the Trump administration to request emergency funding for coronavirus response and released a statement calling for swift passage of the supplemental funding bill introduced on Wednesday.

A full transcript of Murphy’s remarks can be found below:

“Thank you very much, Leslie and thank you to Protect Our Care for convening this call. I'm eager to hear more about these public polling results.

“In many ways, this is the moment that a lot of us have worried about. A true public health threat presented to the country that this president was not ready to meet. From the very beginning, this administration has not taken coronavirus seriously enough. I wish that we had an administration that understood there is no way to confront an epidemic of this potential size without a robust, early, federal response.

“But from the very beginning, the administration seemed to be wishing away the crisis and sending all sorts of confusing messages to the public health infrastructure of this country about the nature of federal leadership.

“This is certainly a moment to come together. Republicans and Democrats need to be working hand in hand to make sure that our health care system has everything that it needs in order to test, identify, and treat people. And that's why I’m proud that today we're going to pass an eight billion dollar emergency funding package with broad bipartisan agreement that is going to make sure that we have the funding necessary to develop a vaccine, that we have the money necessary to develop treatments, that local public health professionals aren't left holding the bag financially, and that we’re deployed overseas to make sure that this disease is confronted on a global basis.”

“But it is important for us to point out the ways in which the administration isn't meeting the moment.

“There's nothing political about making clear that the administration, you know, continues to miss the mark and needs to get better at response if we're going to be able to protect Americans.

“And the president's comments last night in which he seemed to suggest it was okay for people to go to work while they have the coronavirus or the flu are so dangerous. His repeated assertions that a vaccine is just around the corner provides false hope. And the revolving door of leadership, this different group of administration officials that are at the podium every single day—it  doesn't give faith that there's a plan.

“I begged the administration in the early days of this crisis to come to Congress and ask for supplemental funding. They didn't do that. In fact, in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, they didn't believe they needed any additional funding. Then when they finally came to Congress, they asked for an amount of money that just didn't do the job: one and a half billion dollars.

“Now the administration is getting the money that is necessary, but they have telegraphed over and over again, that they don't take this as seriously as they should.

“Now of course, standing next to their, I think, lacking response to the epidemic is their campaign to take health care insurance away for millions of Americans. You know, a million people in this country that had health care a few years ago, don't have it today because of the president’s sabotage campaign.

“And many Americans this year will sign up for health care that isn't health care at all. The administration is selling these junk plans that look like insurance, but then don't actually cover anything. And amongst the things these plans may not cover is the testing of coronavirus and the treatments that people will need.

“And so you have millions of Americans today who don't have coverage would have had it if this president hadn't waged an assault on the health care system. And hundreds of thousands of Americans who think they have insurance but they really don't. Because when they needed to deal coronavirus, they find out that their insurance plan is an insurance plan in name only.

“So, I am glad that Republicans and Democrats in Congress are coming together to make sure we have robust funding to make sure that this virus doesn't spread. But I also think it's really important to continue to point out the ways in which this administration is failing to step up and meet this moment. And I do that in the spirit, I critique this administration, in the spirit of hopefulness that they will get better, and that they will do better.

“And so I'm glad to be a part of this call today.”

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