Sen. Cruz on ‘Fox & Friends’: ‘This Emergency Relief Package is Designed to put Real Relief in the Hands of People’
HOUSTON, Texas - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this morning appeared on Fox News' ‘Fox & Friends' to discuss the third coronavirus relief package which unanimously passed in the Senate, ahead of the House vote. Sen. Cruz also reassured Americans that relief is on the way. Highlights are below:
WATCH: Cruz on Fox and Friends: Relief Is on the Way for the American People
ON THE HOUSE'S VOTE LATER TODAY:
"This is going to pass. It is going to pass and pass overwhelmingly. Which means relief is going to be in the hands of the people that are hurting. And in the Senate, the day before yesterday, we passed it unanimously. 96 to nothing. Every single Senator, Republican and Democrat voted yes. Bernie Sanders voted yes, so did I, and everybody in between.
"This is a $2 trillion bill. That's about a tenth of our national debt. That's a big deal. That's not something that would pass in any ordinary circumstances. But these are extraordinary circumstances, the magnitude of the health threat is massive. And the magnitude of the economic threat - we lost 3 and a half million jobs last week. Small businesses are shuttering all across this country and so this emergency relief package is designed to put real relief in the hands of people."
ON THE EMERGENCY RELIEF BILL:
"The two most important parts of it are that every person making $100,000 or less, or every couple making $200,000 or less will get a check in the mail. A check in the mail for $1,200 per adult, $2,400 per couple and $500 per child. [...]
"Secondly, for small businesses, there's $377 billion in loans [...] that are designed for businesses [with] 500 employees or less, so small businesses, up to $10 million each on the loans and if they use the loans to pay for payroll, to keep their employees on payroll. If they use the loans for mortgage or rent or utility, those loans will be forgiven."
ON THE STEPS THE U.S. SHOULD TAKE MOVING FORWARD:
"Any health response needs to deal with the facts on the ground. And the facts are different from one location to another. And so I think our approach to this global pandemic, we need to be guided by the science, we need to be guided by the physicians and medical professionals. And I fully expect the circumstances are different in Manhattan than perhaps they are in rural Idaho. And so you wouldn't expect the same rules to apply everywhere. I think that recognizes the diversity of the country and where there is an outbreak and where there is a direct and serious threat. Of course, steps need to be taken to protect lives but those can vary in different parts of the country."
Watch the full interview here. On March 18, Sen. Cruz voted in favor of the second coronavirus relief package. On March 5, Sen. Cruz voted in favor of the first coronavirus relief package.
WATCH: Together, We Will #CombatCOVID19
During his voluntary self-quarantine, Sen. Cruz laid out an all-hands-on-deck approach to combatting coronavirus and saving lives, specifically calling on the Administration, Congress, and business leaders to focus on four concrete priorities:
• Making testing more accurate and widely available.
• Ensuring we have enough of the essential medical supplies for first responders and health care professionals,
• Creating more capacity and providing critical resources for hospitals and medical facilities.
• Working quickly to develop and approve vaccines and cures.
Last week, Sen. Cruz introduced three pieces of legislation to increase healthcare capacity and access and speed up FDA approval for certain vaccines and cures that could prevent or treat COVID-19 and sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar urging him to use the Defense Production Act to immediately order the production and distribution of ventilators, which are critical to treating individuals infected by COVID-19.
For more information and additional resources, visit www.cruz.senate.gov/coronavirus/.
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