Rob Portman: “I am here on the floor to talk about how Congress can do a better job in responding to the coronavirus pandemic that has…”

“I am here on the floor to talk about how Congress can do a better job in responding to the coronavirus pandemic that has gripped our country. I just thought that debate was great, something we just heard a moment ago about what we should do going forward. This crisis is unlike anything we have ever seen. I mean, it has devastated so many families. It has turned our lives upside down. It has put an enormous strain on our healthcare system; and our frontline healthcare workers, our researchers, our first responders are working around the clock to help patients and look for treatments. For the past couple of months, every American has been asked to do his or her part through social distancing, through doing smart things like wearing masks, like being sure that we are doing all we can within our home, within our workplace, and out in public to stop the spread of the dangerous virus. I think these have helped. I think these measures have made a difference, and I think we are in a better place by most metrics on the public health danger. I just saw the numbers from Ohio a moment ago here, and we have fewer new positive cases today than we have had over the past week or the past few weeks on average, and so we are beginning to make progress, but it has come at an enormous cost to our economy, and I would say even at an enormous cost to our culture and our society.…”