House GOP leaders hold a press conference

full of topics that we want to address first about the coronavirus every day we learn more about the threat that this virus represents. It is very important that everyone understands that we are united. This is not a partisan issue. We think House Republicans certainly. that we have a duty to make sure the nation is prepared, our nation has more resources than any other nation in the world to be able to address any threat posed by the coronavirus, but it will require bipartisan action, this is not a time for pathogens partisans do it. We don't respect party lines and it is very important that we all come together and work together to make sure we are prepared.

I believe we have a duty to do so, it is a patriotic duty. We have the best infrastructure in the nation. We have in the world, we have the best ability to innovate, the best ability to develop whatever responses are necessary, but it has to happen on a bipartisan basis and I think it's absolutely clear as House Republicans that we will be prepared to resist. behind and support whatever resources are necessary for this, work closely with the president, work across both sides of the aisle with our Democratic colleagues and we urge our Democratic colleagues to do the same as we are all focused on the coronavirus and in the threat that that represents.

Obviously, we're also watching what's happening in the presidential race and last night we had a debate and in particular as we see Senator Sanders continuing to lead on the Democratic side, we think it's very important to remind people at all times what Senator Sanders defends is how radical his views are, to what extent he embraces socialism, and what the facts and reality of socialism really are. Socialism extinguishes freedom. There is simply no doubt about it. The stories you're hearing from Senator Sanders about somehow. socialism that gives power to the people is absolutely wrong, it is absolutely false and history absolutely demonstrates the devastation of socialism throughout the world.

There is no one who understands this better than the people whose families came to the United States from Cuba in particular and in contrast to Senator Sanders, who seems to be a real fan of Fidel Castro, we are very happy to have Congressman with us today Mario Díaz-Balart, who is going to talk to us a little bit about the reality of what life was like in Cuba and still is today and the reality compared to what Senator Sanders has been saying about socialism, so with that I will pass the word on to the congressman. Good afternoon, as the list says.

If anyone wants to know the devastation of socialism and the tyranny that often accompanies socialism, I invite you to come and talk to some. of my constituents, including the thousands of thousands of former political prisoners and the relatives, by the way, of the current political prisoners who languish in the prisons of Cuba only because they have had the courage to speak for freedom or speak against the regime now I know this is not new, what Senator Sanders said the other day has been like the calling card of the progressive movement in the United States for a long time, but I remind the Center and the progressive movement that the Castro regime is A threat not only to the national security of the United States but also to all democracies in this hemisphere, this regime has been on a list of state sponsors of terrorism for many years for its support of other terrorist states and organized terrorist groups.

We can mention several of them, but we would not have enough time to do so. Let me remind this senator or someone else that in 2013 the Cuban regime was caught smuggling weapons to North Korea, in the largest violation of international sanctions against that country that has ever existed. has been propping up the Malouda regime in Venezuela with thousands of intelligence operations agents and again, opposing the Venezuelan people's desire for freedom and democracy, the Cuban regime has been harboring fugitives from US justice, including the most wanted terrorist by the FBI, John Chessmen Chess Emond and again terrorists. bomb maker williammorales who never seems to come with our friends who apologized to the Castros for the Castro atrocities that is why by the way I present a resolution condemning the blatantly false irresponsible ignorant highly ignorant and hurtful comments of the democratic socialist candidate For the President, Mr.

Sanders, this resolution also rejects false claims that Cuba's health care, its educational system, and its literacy rate have improved as a result of the Castro dictatorship, claims of that murderous dictatorship that, by the way, have They have been debunked over and over again and yet they continue to use and repeat them, and Senator Sanders is not the first to do so, so let me give you some facts based on the State Department report. Cuba's infant mortality rate was thirty-two per thousand live births, one of the best in the Western Hemisphere in the 1950s. Castro Cuba's life expectancy was also one of the highest and Latin America in the decade. 1950s oh yes, this is before the Castro dictatorship Cuba's literacy rate was one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere in the 1950s I repeat, yes, it is hard to believe before the so-called literacy programs of the Castro dictatorship again some realities in Cuba more than a million people in a country of only nine million, not mine, nine million have risked everything to escape that dictatorship because things are going very well there, many, by the way , makeshift rafts have perished and while they put themselves, their families and their children at risk just to try to reach freedom in the United States, why, because things were so good on the islands, why what would they do this if things were good, why would they do it?

This is if Castro wasn't so bad and had done so many good things, so let me give you a contrast during the pre-Castro cube. I'm not afraid I know that more Americans went to live in Cuba than Cubans left Cuba to come to the United States. States that that is the reality, not the myth, that some of them would like that some, like Senator Sanders, would like to create it again. I must reiterate the demand made by myself and many of my colleagues, including, for example, Amnesty International and Secretary Pompeo, among others. I have done it because I want to take this opportunity with all of you here for the immediate release of José Daniel, well, tell it, Fla, he has been languishing in a Cuban prison now and being tortured since October 1, 2019 and again, as far as we know . not only is he languishing in the presidency but he is also being tortured in prison he is a renowned independent journalist just like all of you a journalist and leader of the human rights organization in fact he along with all the political prisoners of Cuba have to be released but it seems that the apologists of the Castro regime, those of now and those of recent years, will like to talk about perhaps some things that Castro has done by the way, things that they give him credit for, that he has done and that He didn't do well, never, ever. speaking of the real situation that the Cuban people are suffering, the threat to our national security and the damage that that regime is doing to the world and in this hemisphere, which is why it contrasts with blatantly false, irresponsible, ignorant and hurtful comments about the Castro regime and of the Center and the usual apologists of that regime, this resolution stands in solidarity with the people of Cuba as they fight against that regime while demanding human rights, democracy and freedom.

The reality is that that regime is and always has been a threat to the national security of the United States and a threat to the well-being of the Cuban people that has never changed. This resolution will highlight that reality, not those false claims of the apologists of the Castro regime and others who believe that somehow torturing, murdering and enslaving people is okay if they have been given three things for free, no, the only thing the Castro regime has done is take away their future, their freedom, the well-being of the people. Cuban. Well, Mario's voice is so passionate and powerful that it serves as a clear reminder to people of how devastating the Castro regime and socialist regimes in general are to the people of those communities in those countries that socialism does not It's just a failed ideology, so often those regimes that embrace socialism also deeply disfigure and violate the human rights of the very people who live under those regimes and anyone else.

Who wonders if that really happens? Just go talk to Mario Díaz-Balart. There are so many other people who fled that country because they saw the devastating consequences of what socialism does to people's human rights, and so on, while the leading candidate for president knighted the States. on the Democratic side he is embracing some of the policies of the Castro regime that same week he is criticizing an organization like AIPAC that fights for freedom, that fights to not only maintain this great bond between the United States and Israel and supports our beloved friend Israel. as a Jewish state, but literally choosing sides in this fight to determine whether or not there will be a two-state solution, whether there will be a Palestinian state to attack an organization like AIPAC just boggles the mind that that is something that a major candidate for The president would do if you understood the history of what AIPAC fights for and that's why I want to strongly embrace and support the things that AIPAC stands for when they come to Washington so often to ex

press

that support, that unifying bond, that bipartisan bond between the United States. and Israel is shared here in Congress and what it represents, so it's unfortunate when you see what's happening on the Democratic side, that their party has been taken over by socialism as they try to manipulate the rules against the leader of the candidate for president that I would be.

I'm interested to see how many of our House colleagues would be willing to support or support any Sanders if he were their nominee, but let's have that debate, let's get that debate out there so people know exactly what's at stake as we try to defend those principles. free markets that provide real opportunities for families, the principles we have fought for working with President Trump, that have put more money in the pockets of working families, given them more control over their lives, and allowed us to rebuild the middle class. in this country at a time when we saw it taken away from us by fleeing to other countries that we are finally building, bringing that back, we are finally seeing those forgotten men and women being able to have a chance and a chance to pursue the American dream again. .

In this country and on the other side, all they talk about is having more government control and undermining some of those same things that have given more freedom and more opportunities to people in the United States, while embracing the ideologies that have been so failed and devastating for the people in the United States. other countries, so I hope the American people are watching how this debate plays out because it's going to play out into November, but we're already seeing the stark contrast between what we as Republicans want to do to promote freedom and the leading Democratic candidates for The presidency.

He wanted that same freedom taken away from him while his associates associated themselves with people who are directly responsible for the deaths and denial of freedom to so many millions of people. In the midst of all this, we are working with the administration to combat coronavirus leader McCarthy. and I was at a bipartisan briefing at the White House just a week and a half ago where the Trump administration's top health officials talked about the things they're doing to keep the corona virus in the United States while also acknowledging how dangerous which is and also as we try to get more information from China so that we can find out how deep and serious this disease is spreading throughout their country and unfortunately they have not shared the information that they need to share with us and the rest of the world so that we can make sure that we are taking every step necessary to keep our country safe and help find a vaccine to help prevent the spread of this dangerous disease, so I look forward to hearing the president's comments tonight and I look forward to seeing Congress work together in a bipartisan way to ensure that we provide all the necessary tools to combat the corona virus.

This is not a partisan issue. Anyone who is playing partisan games with this, especially while the president is in a foreign country. They should be ashamed of themselves that's not how we do business that's not how we solve problems we work together like we did when we were in the majority with President Obama to make sure if it was Ebola or whatever other disease we were working with the president to combat and not to try to find oneway to divide the country, but to find a way to work together and finally, there is a debate today and over the next few days and weeks to determine what the next step is to ensure that the FISA courts function properly to keep the United States Sure, the FISA Court has been an important tool for the national security of the United States, but we saw that the FISA Court was clearly abused in the 2016 election, there were some people in our intelligence agencies who abused the FISA Court to carry out their own political agenda, something that should never happen in the United States of America, the people who did it should be held accountable.

The Horowitz report identified some of those problems. I hope the Durham report actually names names so that the Attorney General can those responsible people who abused their positions of authority to try to change the outcome of a presidential election and therefore as they move forward with this they should not do so in a partisan manner. , as unfortunately Chairman Adler is carrying out when members of our side of Collins, the ranking member on Jordan, has proposed good reforms that should be bipartisan and not only makes sure that it does not happen again, but establishes criminal sanctions for someone to break the law and be held fully accountable, that is something that needs to happen and I hope it happens through this process, unfortunately it is not happening under the Adler presidency. committee yet, but I think he and others will recognize that this is something that we need to come together and work to address that no president or presidential candidate should have federal agencies working against them in an election, our elections should be free and fair and decided by the American people, not by bureaucrats in Washington who abuse their power to try to determine the outcome of an election or foreign countries, and we are clearly working to make sure that foreign interference is not allowed either.

I'm glad that President Trump is taking this much more seriously in 2020 than the previous president did in 2016, when the Russians tried to interfere in our election process with our leader Kevin McCarthy. Thanks Liz, thanks Mario. I want to start by first echoing a colleague of mine. Tom Cole, from this morning, for years, Congress has been working to strengthen our preparedness for infectious diseases, you know, over the last five years, for those of us in the majority, we have increased NIH funding by almost 40 percent, averaging almost two billion dollars a year. For what we see today with a virus, we created the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Fund and there is also an idea from Tom Cole that took us two years, but we were able to build it.

We want to be prepared having learned from Ebola and others in terms of where we are headed in the future. I want to thank the President and give him credit for the fact that his administration has been inclined from day one to take preventive and decisive measures, including travel restrictions and aggressive quarantines, this is something that some people would criticize from the beginning. starting when you look back in hindsight, it was the right decision at the right time we want to continue to keep America safe from the coronavirus today the appropriations

leaders

of both

house

s have met to discuss appropriate funding this is not a time to play the policy that we want to make sure that we have all the necessary funds, we want to make sure that the money is going to end up and we also want to make sure that there is accountability for it.

I have great confidence in Kay Granger and her

leaders

hip and working on this and we want to make sure that happens. The supplement arrives in the room as quickly as possible even though Chuck Schumer wants to play politics this time with other

press

releases that is not the time to do it, now is the time to put the American public first. I want to thank Mario for his comments and for coming today and for his resolution that will be in the chamber, no one knows better than Mario and his family what socialism will do from his district, only the thousands of individuals, from oneself who is imprisoned to the that today they have relatives of those who have risked their lives for the idea of ​​coming to America for the idea of ​​freedom, they have the credit of the leading Democratic candidate, Bernie Sanders, Fidel Castro was horrific today, those in the chamber will have the opportunity to vote when it's a PQ of where they really want to be, are they with Bernie, where are they with freedom for those who believe that maybe Bernie Sanders just got it wrong when he said the truth is the truth, okay, only this time He went a step further and praised the Communist Party. from China and claims to lift people out of poverty this is the same government that if you don't agree they imprison you this is the same government that if you want to buy a plane or train ticket you first have to check your social score The most interesting when you listen to the debate last night it wasn't just Bernie who had different ideas, another leading candidate on the Democratic side is one who has set the record for the most money spent on television and hasn't even had one.

I still voted for anyone who ran for president, but I think he thinks he can buy the presidency because when you listen to him last night he apparently bought this

house

and he wanted praise because he says he bought 21 of the people who gave Nancy Pelosi the presidency. seats, it would be interesting to know if any of those 21 have supported him to know how far his money went. I don't think Americans want a president to buy the seat and I don't think America wants someone to buy a house maybe. That's why this house hasn't done so well, maybe that's why they spent all their majority researching what Bloomberg bought.

Interesting question, but those are just the 21 he bought. I guess you could answer that question. I wonder how many of those 21 voted. For the impeachment trial, I don't know the question: how much did he spend one hundred and ten million that he boasted about? said he bought them and worked with Nancy Pelosi to make her president with that open to questions yes sir, he has spoken at length in this press

conference

other press

conference

s about Sanders' record obviously in 2016 Democrats made a comment about Sanders' record president Trump Access Hollywood The Republicans did the same thing it worked pretty well for him why do you think this works in this sense attacking Senator Sanders and the things he never heard President Trump say praising the president's socialist form of government, but there was some pretty uncertain things about his record and that it worked well for Republicans in 2016.

I never heard President Trump say he wanted America to become a socialist country. I have never heard President Trump praise Fidel Castro or a regime that people would risk their lives to escape. I never heard of President Trump honeymooning in the Soviet Union. Union, so I'm not sure that will work well, but if the Democratic Party believes that he will be the frontrunner and I think we can get the American public to make that decision at the end of the day, I think President Trump will be re-elected and by a larger margin, why not for Bernie Sanders, not for Bernie Sanders' socialist beliefs, but for President Trump's record of the strongest economy he has had in over 50 years, lifting up all Americans, rebuilding a military, rebuilding the VA giving people the right to try when they are terminally ill, making the government more efficient and more accountable and preparing even when China brings in a coronavirus to try to protect Americans.

I think there are many reasons why President Trump will be re-elected. and I think when he gets down to it Bloomberg may want to try to buy another term for Speaker Pelosi, but I don't think the American public believes that too, yes sir, a supplement was presented and the way most supplements work we put together the Appropriations Committee we sit down with NIH CDC we see what we need now we want to make sure of a test kit the resources there are to supply and our need for where to go we have resources before, but when a supplement arrives all the way of speaking with the experts, as Steve mentioned, we've been to the White House numerous times, it wasn't even bipartisan, it's bicameral in those meetings, this is not a time to play politics, as you saw it, if you were to take something that we had said during the Ebola crisis when we had a different administration that could work together to keep America safe.

I think that will be fundamental for us. That's why the appropriations committee met. We want to make sure there is always enough money. Come back, I think two billion is a little low. I think we're probably looking at four billion in this process after talking to Democratic members of the House of Representatives about appropriations, that's what they were looking for after talking to Tom Cole. Tom Cole and Roy Blunt. I've been the leader in rebuilding the CDC and the NIH, if there's anyone who deserves credit when you talk to Tom Cole, who worked for two and a half years to get a Rapid Response Fund for infectious diseases, something that other people They didn't think but they thought. about the arrival of this day, are we prepared and having fun?

Building and averaging over two billion dollars a year and building for that, my biggest concern is what would happen if the Democrats' HR 3 became a law that eliminated future cures as we watch the world continue changing we are going to need new cures we are going to need a vaccine we have all the science behind what we need to get that vaccine today we have several pharmaceutical companies in China that supply them with the best way to treat how do we speed up this process? China's lack of responsibility hurts the entire world and I think the United States has been leading the way in this charge and we want to make sure that we can continue to do that because this is something that was not created here but I can still come here, yes, I think the secretary, a tsar, has been acting that way and just from his experience in others, I think he has done a good job at that.

I want to make sure everyone is working together currently where we are. I think it works well. What's going on? In these situations, a lot of things have to happen at the state level, so the governors have to get involved at a higher level, they have to get involved with us so that the federal government has met the resources, but many of those actions will be provided at the state in which I am. Being from California I have a big concern, the amount of homeless people we have in California is very concerning to me on many different levels, but with the fear of the coronavirus coming and you know, the Corona virus started in the East, but where you practically travel a lot to California if you were to enter the homeless population, how do you quarantine within a homeless population and with the healthcare itself?

What is Governor Gavin Newsom doing right now? What if this came into a university when you have a campus when you are in rooms in dormitories and others, these are the preparations that I think we also need to work on, but that is why you have to involve the governor in the secretary after having been in the health industry and having worked as Secretary of Health. and Human Services also understand the government, so it's not just a matter of including someone, they have to be aware of the government and also the medical community, and chance is really the right person at the right time, this is a serious situation and That's why this administration has taken it that way when the president went out that weekend and stopped any incoming flights.

He also led the world where others would follow to try to contain it with just China. The challenge here is the lack of accountability that looms. From China, our scientists from the beginning have been communicating, but they have not been as open. Now we find out that it started in November, maybe if they had told us then we could have been on to something much better than doing something much better about it now. If our scientists had made noise and earlier maybe we could have treated it even at a different level, but it is a contagious movement means it can move at a fast speed, the mortality level is at a lower or higher level. than a flu, but from a pandemic situation, if you get it once, how do you control its growth?

That's the preparation that we've been doing now, that's the preparation that this president had done before trying to contain it in China, unfortunately Iran has. has been opened and how big it is inside Iran. Italy has been open in its discussions. I think this is a time when the world is working together. The United States has been a leader in a lot of this, so I'm proud of the fact. In most of what we did to increase funding for the NIH and CDC withYou look forward to today, we have some tremendous experts there and I'm really sure that if the other countries would release what's stopping them from allowing our experts to help.

I think the world would be safer before Yes, no, it's not, yes, unfortunately, yes, I think, say it one more time, yes, I think. I think everyone, almost everyone in the world, would believe that a breath also bleeds, it is a heart that beats, carried away by the breeze. And for me, by any definition, that would be murder, thank you very much.