York times in the newspaper, despite timely alerts, trump was slow to act. Usa today has a very similar story in this mornings paper, online, obviously, and the online headline is golf and maralago conga line squandered week highlights trump slack of covid19 focus. There is no escaping the fact that the spread of a Novel Coronavirus would soon up and american life, there were confirmed cases in two dozen states including washington where a state of emergency had been declared after a least 10 people died in the previous week in connection with a single nursing home. New york city was experience an alarming trend upward in cases, the crew should carrying infected passengers idled off the california coast waiting for a port to 11 to disembark, hospitals, Nursing Homes and Health Officials around the country worried over a lack of testing capabilities and a shortage of medical equipment. The annual Music Festival southbysouthwest was cancel that day. Joining an array of scotland movie releases and concertgoers the dowrt tours, plunged, the chief of the World Health Organization had explicitly warned leaders that the epidemic of the pushback but only with a collective, coordinated and comprehensive approach that engages the entire machinery of government. Usa today writes that armed with all of that evidence, President Donald Trump spent the next weekend treating covid19 in much the way that he had over the previous two months, he hosted large gatherings of maralago, went golfing, attended fundraisers, dispensed misinformation about the virus, slammed social distancing guidelines. The message was clear life could proceed as normal. They write that the declaration issued a month ago prompted a cascade of measures by governors and other officials that have essentially halted public life in the u. S. In a frantic effort to limit covid19 spread, although disruptive, the measures have been credited with limiting new covid19 outbreaks in places that have not yet become a hotspot while helping the exponential rise in cases in cities like new york city where a crush of sick patients overwhelmed hospital. You can read all of that article, that is usa today. Com. Of tweets,n a series President Trump responding to the New York Times article saying the New York Times stories are fake, just like the paper itself, i was criticized for moving too fast with the china ban long before others wanted to do so. Secretary are told me nothing until later and Peter Navarro memo was the same. Fake news. Theres likely to be action this week in the u. S. Senate, at least, on potential additional legislation on top of the 2. 2 trillion passed into law, and now in effect. We are joined by jennifer, appropriations and budget reporter. Jennifer, tell us why there is additional money that Congress Needs to add on to the money passed back in march. Large piece of legislation that Congress Passed back in march, about 2. 3 trillion a package, there was a new program that included forgivable, Small Business loans, known as the paycheck protection program, and that was designed really to help Small Businesses that had been shut down by social distancing guidelines to really try to reduce the spread of the virus. It was designed to give the money to get them through this period and a big part of that program is that they continue paying their employees while their employees are home. In that big package, Congress Approved about 349 billion for this program which is a substantial amount of money, and they really thought at the time that is the last for about two months if not more. But this program has proven extremely popular since it launched, and the Trump Administration is now asking congress for an additional 251 billion for that paycheck protection program, bringing the total anonymous funding to that to about 600 billion. So right now, negotiations are underway between the Trump Administration, republicans, and democrats to try to figure out a way to pass the legislation democrat what so many changes to the way that the Small Business loans are structured to make sure that money is getting to people and businesses that dont have those traditional relationships with big banks, and they are really counting that they want to make sure that the money is going to minority and womenowned businesses. Host that is the negotiation going on now. We saw on the senate floor, friday, i believe, democrats, in particular ben cardin, senator warner objecting to what Mitch Mcconnell was proposing on the senate floor, is more of that likely had . Guest we arent entirely sure what is going to happen this morning at the senates session. We have not gotten good guidance from the look on loftus about whether or not republicans plan to try to, once again, bring up this hill that we just include any small money for the Small Business program or whether or not they are just going to let this be the standard where they come in and then they just adjourn immediately. So we are all very much trying to figure out what is going to happen this morning. We could see a repeat of last thursday where there is a unanimous consent request by republicans and then democrats of the so that is one things that we are all trying to figure out this morning. Host and regardless of whatever passes in the senate, or happens in the senate, eventually has to be passed by the house. Viewsrd on how policy this on how nancy pelosi views this proposal . Guest Speaker Pelosi and chuck schumer, they have put out a few dual statements during this process the last week, they have said that they are unified in wanting these structural changes to the paycheck protection program. They also want additional funding for hospitals as well as state and local governments, and thats another thing that republicans are resisting. They say that those programs which already received one day in the previous package, they are not set to run out of funding, potentially as early as this week. The paycheck protection program, they are saying that those negotiations should hold over to the next bill and so democrats want to have bipartisan negotiations, and we heard on schumerrom both chuck and nancy pelosi after they spoke with steve mnuchin, that the administration was on board with negotiating, but that on saturday, we got a statement from Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell and house gop leader Kevin Mccarthy saying that they hope democrats come around to the republican view of this package and that they will just support a clean funding extension. So it seems like right now, we are very much at a stalemate heading into this week. Quick thing,e were seeing your reporting this morning, House Democrats planning postpandemic acceleration to appropriation process, the pandemic and congress being away has fairly gummed up the works here. Any word on how they are going to proceed forward, at least in the house . The House Appropriations committee, they have both been doing a lot of telework with staff and things like that. One big piece of moving legislation on the house side is that the Health Appropriations chairwoman has given the 12 subcommittees their allocations, their total spending levels for the upcoming fiscal year. That is supposed to start on october 1. Those committees are now going to be able to begin looking at how to draft the legislation and potentially even were fully drafting the legislation remotely so that when the House Appropriations committees are able to come back and meet again, they could very quickly move on that markup process. Obviously, well have a timeline right now for when congress would fully returned to washington, d. C. In that capacity were committees are meeting and marking of legislation, because we dont get really know when all the andes are going to start the social distancing regulations are going to relax. Host we appreciate you covering the story. Jennifer covers the appropriations and budget process. Read her reporting at rollcall,. Com. Back to your calls and comments, a couple of comments on facebook before your calls. This, asking all citizens to return to the u. S. On the same day with no way to process them at airports left new york in this emergency. Lack of testing is still an issue, and andrew says anger, this was mismanaged and minimized the beginning and now many lives have been lost but could have been preserved and lisa and saying that the situation is unprecedented and everyone is trying to do the right thing. There is no history to look back on for guidance, it is the constant political bickering and the blame game that needs to stop. Our leaders, all of them, are acting like children. We are in this together. Lets go to david first in texas. Hi high there there. Theer apoplectic over policy move. Ive got a Small Business, employing five myself, worked out of my office and my house for the last 20 years. The park in the plan where they refer to the fact that they want to make sure that the larger businesses arent the only ones that benefit from it, i agree concept, from that because ive seen it, its actually true that it happened way way because of the thanking structures are set up as far as this came down the pipe. This also confusion because theres three plans out there. Theres the covid19 Disaster Recovery plan which was out there for the payroll retention plan. That started on friday that week officially, ive got a client who is actually up because of this and he got his stuff through and qualified and everything before i did. Because hes got a banking relationship, which is really the biggest issue. Hes got a banking relationship and commercial loans. Those are the guys that were in the first position to have something happen. Second position, you got to have a banking relationship of some sort, and everybody wasnt even accepting that in bank of america your they werent taking anybody unless they had a commercial lending relationship with them first. I spent the better part of over a day just finding somebody to take my calls at my bank where ive had a Checking Account for 20 years. It took me a day just to get phone calls, two more days to get contacted. Finally got contacted, i was happy to see it was a local banker that i actually knew, but that after working with him that day and thinking i had gotten everything done that i needed to do, and contacted over the next myk telling me that application is going to be put on hold, and this is the scary part to me, because i filed a scheduled c. I looked this up this morning, 73 of business is sold proprietorship. The majority are going to file a schedule c at some point, and hes telling me i am being put aside because the fda didnt have clear guidance for them on schedule c. Here is the thing thats here is me about nancy pelosi and the democrats. Again, i agree with the idea that they make sure that the banks understand loan this to Small Businesses, loan this to the economy, loan this to the people that previously would not have been qualified for the things because the economy has been destroyed by the standdown orders. Insuredant to also excuse me, they want to ensure minority and womenowned businesses. They should not have to do Something Special about that, that is going to cripple the ability to get these things through fast. Theres very few lines on these forms, the present form, theres very few lines on them, maybe three that have to do with numbers that you are actually producing. If youve got to bury as proof of having to do with minority ownership, womens ownership, and if that has anything to do with the order in which these things get done, i cannot imagine how this is going to come up. My biggest fear is that they are going to say anybody whose applications has been processed yet, you are going to have to redo it. Host david, can i ask you one quick thing . He said you have five employees, how much are you asking for in this Small Business loan . Caller attack elision for 2. 5 months work septa 53,000. My employees are all for load furloughed,m they would be on the payroll immediately right now if i had the funding. Host appreciate it, i will let you go there. Long beach, california next. Caller hello. I was a nurse for 42 years, hospital nursing, mainly. From did get a notice governor nixons office through joined,n because i just im 66 and semiretired. To goo tried to get us and get the retired nurses to work for covid19. I just cant, really. I would, but i cant because im at the age i am, i told them to aside, in the loop, that im calling about the stimulus checks. Is a mess, a hot mess, in my humble opinion. I just found out, because i was trying to research, i filed paper taxes, im 66. I filed in march. That all ofound out the irs offices are closed due to the coronavirus, covid19. Theyre close. The only people that are getting stimulus checks are people did turbotax and the tax online. They are closed, you can go to those websites. I want to fresno, california because thats my federal place to send it. But all of the country, it is right on the irs website, their closed, they are not doing any paper, mailin returns. None. Eventually, they say they will, but right now, they are all locked up in a lockbox somewhere due to safety concerns. They will get to them when they can. This more issues with that as far as dependence, i have a son with hype optioning autism, he wont get a check because he is still a dependent. Host have you tried reaching the irs . The tollfree line . You should the able to reach them through the national tollfree line. Caller ive tried extensively, i already know. Ive contacted the union. I basically know what is going on with this, and its nothing because he should be eligible and of course, i should be eligible, but unfortunately for papercause i filed the taxes before this became a big crisis, now those are going to be delayed for months and months and months and months. Int fears t here is todd brentwood, california. Caller i am very disappointed in cspan. Thingng cspan is now the the same as watching cnn. It is all about alarm and blame, but you are planning selective. If trump was slow to react to this, who was fast . The mayor of new orleans . Cuomo cap the gates open, he welcomed from china. The mayor of new orleans was partying at mardi gras. You have people all over the world. Treatmentse new offer false hope, a plasma transfer. Host your view on governors reflected by joan texting is from minnesota who says dont cuomotrump for new york, dragged his feet and congress dragged its feet, trump was criticized for a ban on air travel, critics cant have it both ways. In illinois, this is charles. Caller to respond to the last caller, the president of the United States has well over a dozen intelligence agencies telling them what is going on all over the planet. The problem is donald trump doesnt listen to them. He spends more time talking to fox news tv personalities rather than imported people that know its going on. Reports are coming up now, President Trump was told about this in late december and he chose to do nothing. Upset thewant to stock market, hes more worried about himself than anyone else. Instead of standing up and being a leader and taking it by the horns, he is laying back trying to shock the blame and pushed the blame onto the governors. Of course the governors have made mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. But donald trump is not being a responsible president. He has cemented his position as the worst president the United States has ever had. Host joe biden, the Presumptive Democratic nominee for 2020 with an opinion piece in the New York Times today, an extensive piece. Joe biden, i plan to safely reopen america. In that piece, heres a joe biden writes. First, we have to get the number of new cases of the disease down significantly. That means social distancing has to continue and the people on the frontlines have to get the supplies and equipment they need. Second, you need to be widespread, easily available testing and a Contact Tracing strategy that protects privacy. Trumps report from mr. Department of health and Human Services may clear that we are far from achieving this goal. We should be running multiple times the number of diagnostic tests we are performing right now and we should be rated to scale up a second form of testing. Third, read all of that at nytimes. Com. Connecticut, good morning. On the air, go ahead. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] caller good morning. Host we will go to diane in ann arbor, michigan. Caller good morning, im just , please lets have national balloting by mail. Voters should vote by mail and they need to begin preparation for this now. Away andnd six months we have a system in place, everyone can get a ballot by mail. Its called an absentee ballot. Lets have it every registered voter gets a ballot sent to them. Be if weto this would have paper balloting, we have a paper trail so no one can complain or hold up the National Elections results by saying there was something going on. We have a paper ballot trail. Also, we dont know the status of the pandemic and what it will be. Get the ballot going, send them out, have an election and then call it from there. Hopeneed to begin now so i they will do that and get ahead of the problem and lets move on. Rate how would you Gover