Elizabeth Warren Rolls Out Coronavirus Plan That De-Funds Border Security
Democratic presidential primary candidate Elizabeth Warren officially unveiled legislation this week that would reallocate billions in federal homeland security funds toward efforts to combat the potential stateside spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
What exactly those efforts might look like was not outlined in the radical-left Massachusetts senator’s plan, however — only where the funding for such a response would be found.
According to a Thursday news release from Warren, a just two-page “Prioritizing Pandemic Prevention Act” would fund American response to the deadly zoonotic disease, which originated in China last month, by reclaiming roughly $10 billion set aside by the Trump administration for the construction of a “racist” wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The coronavirus outbreak poses serious health, diplomatic, and economic threats to the United States, and we must be prepared to confront it head-on,” Warren said. “Rather than use taxpayer dollars to pay for a monument to hate and division, my bill will help ensure that the federal government has the resources it needs to adequately respond to this emergency.”
“‘I’m going to be introducing a plan tomorrow to take every dime that the President is now spending on his racist wall at our southern border and divert it to work on the coronavirus,” Elizabeth Warren says #CNNTownHall pic.twitter.com/I3WTbNlBzV
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 27, 2020
Known to be transmissible among human beings, the latest strain of coronavirus, a disease similar in genetic composition to SARS, was believed Thursday to have spread to more than 82,000 people globally and killed roughly 2,700, according to CNN.
The disease triggered panic over the weekend as more than 1,000 new cases began cropping up across South Korea, Italy and the Middle East. Many had believed it to be simply a Chinese problem, with little more than three percent of total global cases tallied outside the East Asian nation.
Blame for a corresponding weekend drop in global markets has in turn been laid at the feet of the disease by establishment media figures and on Tuesday prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a public warning that the disease would almost certainly take hold in the U.S.
Numerous Democratic opponents to the president have since issued public statements rebuking his leadership in light of the global outbreak and demanding that more be done than simple investment in vaccine-related research and increased airport screenings of foreign travelers.
Warren has followed suit, posting to social media several times throughout the week to accuse Trump of “absolutely bungling” its coronavirus response.
The Trump White House had requested Monday that Congress allocate roughly $1.25 billion in untouched capital as emergency funding for executive disease response efforts, according to Politico.
But it was too little too late, the Massachusetts senator claimed Tuesday.
Conservative cuts to public health and foreign aid budgets, Warren accused, had largely been responsible for what she referred to as reactive “scrambling” by the Trump administration in order to organize a scientific response and mitigate the effects of the outbreak on U.S. supply chains.
“Even worse, Trump refuses to centralize crisis management in the White House — allowing CDC scientists to be overruled and sowing internal dysfunction,” Warren said. “All this mismanagement casts doubt on how effectively he can deploy emergency funding.”
“Like so much else, the Trump administration’s bungled response to the coronavirus outbreak is a mess,” she added. “As president, I will lead a competent administration prepared to combat outbreaks — because our public health, economy, and national security depend on it.”
So how do you control the spread if you can’t control who comes into your country, genius?
— Nick Searcy, INTERNATIONAL FILM & TELEVISION STAR (@yesnicksearcy) February 27, 2020
Elizabeth Warren’s response to the coronavirus is to open the borders wider
This idea is both irresponsible and childish and disqualifies her from ever holding the presidency https://t.co/mQnz5x8SrP
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) February 27, 2020
Elizabeth Warren just introduced a bill to redirect funds from border security to fight the Coronavirus
She wants to open the border to stop the spread of a pandemic?
Democrats are politicizing a global health crisis just to own Trump
They hate him more than they love America
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 27, 2020
Warren initially announced intentions to introduce her “Prioritizing Pandemic Prevention Act” to the Senate during a CNN presidential primary town hall Wednesday night, suggesting to the cheers of audience members that “every dime” of Trump’s border wall funding would be diverted to coronavirus response efforts if she had her way.
Right-wing pundits have not, however, been kind to the radical-left senator’s vague plan, panning it as a “childish” effort to slight the president — and one that may in fact leave the U.S. at higher risk of a public health crisis at that.
“Elizabeth Warren’s response to the coronavirus is to open the borders wider,” One America News Network host Jack Posobiec responded on Twitter. “This idea is both irresponsible and childish and disqualifies her from ever holding the presidency.”
The notion that a potential cross-border, human-to-human health crisis could be prevented with a decreased focus on immigration and border security, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk suggested, was foolish and political in nature.
“Warren just introduced a bill to redirect funds from border security to fight the Coronavirus,” Kirk wrote. “She wants to open the border to stop the spread of a pandemic?”
“Democrats are politicizing a global health crisis just to own Trump. They hate him more than they love America,” he added.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
