Ways and Means Republican Leader Kevin Brady (R-TX) joined Ayman Mohyeldinon on MSNBC to talk about the federal response to the novel coronavirus.
On federal efforts:
“I think Leader McConnell is exactly right – time has run out. This bill has been delayed now for three days; and those working groups he put together, Republicans and Democrats, were working. They were within inches on a final agreement on Sunday. That got blown up and were held hostage for several days. Now is the time to come together.”
“A provision I worked hard for – the self-employed, the independent contractors, the gig economy, and furloughed workers – were going to get help as well. Look, there is no reason to delay this further.”
On state and local efforts:
“Republicans support not just help for our hospitals and our communities but using the traditional ways we do it with natural disasters to give those state and local governments the support they need.”
“In Texas, our governor and lieutenant governor have made some smart decisions that have allowed our local communities to really lock down where it made sense … and I think we’ve done an awfully good job of trying to contain this virus without locking down the entire community.”
“For those of us who are young and healthy, this virus loves crowds and attacks the elderly. I think the work we are doing, and social distancing and personal hygiene, is helping constrain this virus.”
“Let’s lock down this virus, don’t lock down the entire economy – we’ve still got some big challenges ahead.”
CLICK HERE to watch the full interview.