Focus heavily on the crisis. The setting is also different to reduce unnecessary risk of transmission of the virus, cnn, the Democratic National committee and the campaigns moved this debate from phoenix, arizona, to here at cnn studios in washington without any audience. All of this comes as four more states, florida, arizona, ohio and illinois prepare to vote on tuesday with Vice President biden currently leading senator sanders in the race for delegates. Heres what were going to do tonight. Each of you will have 90 seconds to answer questions and 45 seconds for responses and rebuttals. As much as we can, we hope this will be a conversation between the two of you. So lets begin with the most important issue right now, the coronavirus and what you would do as president in the face of it. Vice president booiden, let me start with you. Were in a reality right now that might have seen unimaginable a week ago. Schools have been cancelled for more than 25 million students, Grocery Stores health ises have been cleared out, march madness, disney parks, Small Businesses all shut down and just today the cdc issued a new recommendation that for the next eight weeks events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the u. S. Be cancelled or post toned. What do you say to the American People who are confronting this new reality . First of all, my heart goes out to those who have already lost someone or those suffering from the virus. This is bigger than any one of us. This is a National Rally into everybody move together. And i laid out in detail what i would do were i president today. Go to joebiden. Com. I laid it out in significant detail. But there are three pieces. First of all, we have to take care of those who, in fact, are exposed or likely to be exposed to the virus. And that means we have to do testing, we have to get the testing kits out, i would have the World Health Organization, take advantage of the test cuts they have available to us even though the president says a million or more are come iing. Lets get all the tests web done as quickly as we can. Secondly, i would make sure that every state in the union had ten places where they had trooif thrust testing arrangements. I would also at this point deal with the need to be planning for additional hospital beds. We have the kpapt in the department of defense as well as with the fema. And they can set up 500bed hospitals quickly. We have to lay all that out. But we have to deal with the economic fallout quickly. That means making sure the people who lose their job, dont get a paycheck, cant pay their mortgage are able to pay it and pay them now. And do it now. Small businesses be able to borrow interestfree loans. I see my time is up here are are you going to hold us tightly, but thats what i would do. Go to joebiden. Com. It lays out what i would do if i were president today. Senator sanders, dr. Fauci acknowledged that its possible that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of americans could die from coronavirus in a worst case scenario. If you were president right now, whats the most important thing you would do tonight to try to save american lives . Firstly, whether or not im president , we have to shut this president up right now. Because hes undermining the doctors and the scientists who are trying to help the American People. It is unaccept able for him to e blabbering unfaction yule information. Second of all, what we need to do, and im glad he has called a state of National Emergency, what we have got to do is move aggressively to make sure that every person in this country finally understands that when they get sick with the coronavirus, that they will that all payments will be made. They dont have to worry about coming up with money for test ing. They dont have to worry about coming up with money for treatment. This is an unprecedented moment in american history. I i obviously believe in medicare for all. I will fight for that as president. But right now, in this emergency, i want every person in this country to understand what when you get sick, you go to the doctor. When you get sick, if you have the virus, that will be paid r for. Do not worry about the cost right now. Because were in the middle of a National Emergency. Second of all, we have to make sure that our hospitals have the ventilators they need, have the ic units they need. Right now we have a lack of medical personnel. And i worry very much that if there is a peak, whether we have the capability of dealing with hundreds of thousands of people who may be in hospitals. So we need unprecedented action right now to deal with the unprecedented crisis. And bottom line from an economic point of view, what we have to say to the American People, if you lose your job, you will be made whole. Youre not going to lose income. If trump can put or the fed can president a trillion and a half into the banking system, we can protect the wages of every worker in america. Thank you. Joe biden, President Trump says he does not take any responsibility for the problems with coronavirus testing in part because he says he inherited so many rules, regulations and red tape. Did bureaucratic red tape ham per this response . No, the World Health Organization offered testing kits that they have available to give to us now. We refused them. We did not want to buy them. We did not want to get them from them. We wanted to make sure we had our own. He said Something Like the best scientists in america or something to that effect. The idea that we are not prepared for this and not the other thing i want to point out. I agree with bernie. Were in a situation where we have to now be providing for the hospitals that are going to be needed. Needed now. The present system can cannot handle the surge that is likely to come. So we should already be sitting down and planning where were dpoing to put these temporary hospitals. And we can do that. We have been through this before with the coronavirus. We have excuse me with dealing with the viruss that the h1n1 and as well as what happened in africa. We provided these hospitals dealing with these great pandemics and we were able to do it quickly. People would have a place to go. But we need equipment to protect the First Responders. Senator sanders, obviously, another Major Health Concern for officials is the surge in patients all at once. Overburden hospitals. You mentioned icu beds and ventilators. Were already in the middle of flu season, so a lot of the beds are being used. If you were president right now, what would you do to make sure every sick american is able to get treatment so the u. S. Does not suffer the same fate as italy where doctors have to decide wright now who gets lifesaving treatment and who does not. Lets be honest and understand that this coronavirus pandemic exposes the incredible weakness and dysfunction nalityf our Current Health care system. Twice as much for health care. How in gods name did we end up with 87 Million People ununsured or underi object sured and people watching this that are not feeling well. Should i go to the doctor, but i cant afford to go to doctor. What happens if im sick . Its going to cost thousands of for treatment. Who is going to feed my kids . We are the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all people. Were spending so much money and were not even prepared for this pandemic. How come hospitals in rural areas are shutting town . How come people cant afford to get the Prescription Drugs we need because we have crooks running the pharmaceutical industry. In the midst of this epidemic, you have people in the pharmaceutical industry are saying, wow, what an opportunity to make a fortune. So the word has got to go out. I certainly would do this as president. You dont worry. People of america, do not worry about the cost of Prescription Drugs. Do not worry about the cost of the health care that youre going to get. Because we are a nation, a civilized democratic society. Rich and poor, middle class will get the care they need. The Drug Companies will not rip us off. Vice President Biden, some medical experts are saying the only true way to control this virus is through a National Quarantine requiring every american other than essential personnel to stay home. Would you take that unprecedented step of a National Lockdown . What i would do is what we did in our administration. I would call a meeting in the situation room of all the experts in america dealing with this crisis. I would sit them down and i would do exact ly what we did then. What is it that we need . Listen to the experts. What do woe need. With all due respect for m medicare for all, you have a single payer system in italy. It doesnt work there. It has nothing to do with medicare for all. That would not solve the problem at all. We can take care of that right now by making sure that no one has to pay for treatment, period, because of the crisis. No one has to pay for whatever drugs are needed, period, because of the crisis. No one has to pay for hospitalization because of the crisis, period. Thats a National Emergency and thats how its handled. Its not working in italy right now. Ask they have a single payer system. With regard to what else i would do, the fact is that were in a position where i would bring together the leading experts of the world. Instead of doing this in the United States, instead of doing this piecemeal, sit down and do a what we did with the ebola crisis. What is needed and have one voice, one voice like we did every day we met in that crisis in the situation room. Lay iing out overall, for all t nation, what the best proposal is and how to move forward. In the absence of that, governors are making some sound decisions. They are doing the best they can by going out and Getting Health Care expert this is their communities and states to move. But it should be directed from the white house, from the situation room, laying out in detail like we did in the ebola crisis and we beat it. Thank you. Senator sanders, your response . First of all, the dysfunctionality of the Current Health care system is obviously apparent. As i said earlier, there are people who hesitate going to the doctor. Youre going to have a maize of regulations, if this is my income, if thats my income, can i get it . We are not prepared. Trump only kpas exacerbates the crisis. When we spend twice as much per capita than any oh nation, one might expect wed have enough doctors all over the country. Wed have us awe fordable Prescription Drugs. One might expect we are prepare ing for a pandemic that we were ready with the ventilators with the icus and test kits we need. We are not. And bottom line here is in terms of medicare for all, despite what the Vice President is saying, what the experts tell us that one of the reasons that we are unprepared and have been unprepared is we dont have a system. We got thousands of private insurance plans. That is not a system that is prepared to provide health care to all people. In a good year without the epidemic, were losing up to 60,000 people who die every year because they dont get to a doctor on time. Its clearly this crisis is only making a bad situation worse. That has nothing to do when youre in a National Crisis. The National Crisis says were responding. Its all free. You dont have to pay for a thing. That has nothing to do with whether or not you have an insurance policy. This is a crisis. Were at war with the virus. Were at war with the virus. It has nothing to do with copays or anything. We just pass a law saying you do not have to pay for any of this, period. Thats not true. As a matter of fact, thats not true. That law has enormous loopholes. I understand that nancy pelosi did her best. But what youre talking about, joe, is enormous loopholes within that that, in fact, its thot necessarily covering treatment for all people in america. And people are going to be stuck with the bill unless we change that. Were going to offer legislation to change that. If i may, i offered legislation. I laid out on my plan that it would cover exactly what is not covered by the house. I laid out in the plan that i laid out for how we would deal with this crisis. Nobody will pay for anything having to do with the crisis. This is a National Emergency. This isnt a question of whether or not this is something that could be covered by insurance or anything else. We out of the treasury are going to pay for this. Its a National Emergency. Thats what my plan calls for. But the weakness of this, lets do a hypothetical. Family members diagnose with the virus. Terrible tragedy, massive anxiety. The wife has the virus, the husband is a wreck and wants to go get counselling. Doesnt have the money to do that. Maybe their kid breaks a leg. They dont have the money. Youre saying right now in the middle of a crisis, last year at least 30,000 people died in america because they didnt get health care when they should. Because we dont have universal coverage. I think thats a crisis. 1 out of 5 people cannot awe ford the Prescription Drugs they need. They suffer, some die. I consider that a crisis. Bottom line is we need a simple system, which exists in canada, exists in countries all over the world. That is if you are an american, you get the health care you need, end of discussion. We can save huge sums of money doing that. The trick is do we have the guts to take on the Health Care Industry, some of which is funding the Vice President s campaign. Do we have the courage to take on the executives at the Prescription Drug industry. Some of whom are funding his campaign. This is a National Crisis. I dont want to get this in back and forth in terms of politics. I laid out a plan building on obamacare, providing the public option of medicare. It would cover everyone. This idea that this is his only answer is a mistake in notion. But regardless of whether my plan was in place or his, this is a crisis. This is like we are being attacked from abroad. This is something that is of great consequence. This is like a war. And in a war, you do whatever is needed to be done to take care of your fepeople. What you do is and i proposed it and laid it out in detail. Everything that you need in terms of dealing with this crisis would be free. It is paid for by the taxpayers generally. Generally. It has nothing to do with bernies medicare for all. By the way Vice President , thank you. If i may, the Vice President just mention ed war. Would you deploy the u. S. Military in an effort to contain the virus . If so, how . I think we use all of the tools that make sense. And if using the national guard, which is folks i think in new york state are already using the national guard, thats something that has to be done. This is clearly, as the Vice President indicated, a National Emergency. And what i worry about is not only how we respond aggressively to the virus, but also how we respond aggressively to the economic fallout of a global recession. So right now in illinois and ohio, if my memory is correct, the governor there has said they are closing down bars and restaurants. What happens to the workers who are there . What happens to the millions of workers who may end up losing their jobs. So what i think we have got to do right now is if trump can provide or the fed can provide a trillion and a half for liquidity for the banks, we are going to say to every worker in america, dont panic. Youre not going to youll be able to pay your mortgage. Youre going to get a check. Were going to talk about the economic go ahead. The sans i would call out the military. Now. They have the capacity to provide this surge help that hospitals need and that is needed across the nation. I would make sure that they did exactly what they are prepared to do. They have done it. They did it in the ebola crisis. They have tone it. They have the capacity to build 500bed hospitals and tents that are completely safe and secure and provide the help to get it done to this overflow. So it is a National Emergency. I would call out the military. The ebola crisis is one thing. This is, obviously, a pandemic, which is far more severe and impactful to this country. And i think one of the things we want to remember here is that we have a lot of elderly people in this country who are told to stay home. Dont leave your house. Who is going to get food to them . You got schools all over this country now being shut down. How are we going to make sure that the kids do well in this crisis, not become traumatized . What do we do about the parents that have to stay home with kids and cant go to work . Bottom line here is that in this cris crisis, we have got to start paying attention to the most vulnerable. That includes people who are in prison right now. People in homeless shelters right now. What about the half a Million People who are homeless tonight . Who is going to respond to them . In 2008 when we had the wall street bailout, they did well for the people on top. They bailed out the crooks on wall street. They forgot about the suffering of ordinary americans. This time around, let us learn that lesson and Pay Attention to the working class of this cou country. We have learned that les