Coronavirus Pennsylvania: 'No Reason To Lunge Forward Recklessly' In Reopening Economy, Sen. Bob Casey Says
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey exclusively joined Eyewitness News on Sunday night to discuss a number of coronavirus-related issues. Among the topics discussed were the potential $450 billion in new stimulus money, the seven-state council that will oversee the restart of the economy, the continued lack of testing and Philadelphia officials' resistance to release data on members of the city's police, fire and EMS infected with COVID-19.
President Donald Trump said Sunday Congress is close to a deal to replenish the small business loan program. The $450 billion in new stimulus money would fund small businesses, hospitals and COVID-19 testings. Casey is one of Pennsylvania's senators who will have to vote on it if the deal is struck.
Here is Joe Holden's exclusive interview with Casey.
CBS3: The announcement of a $450 billion infusion to boost small loan programs that have simply run out of money. Will that do the trick and fill the gaps?
Casey: I think it's critically important that we have new dollars for the small business program. I want to make sure as well that the program is reaching all those that should benefit, particularly very small businesses and small businesses that are in minority communities that may not have access to banking relationships. We want to make improvements to the program, but the dollars obviously matter and having an agreement to do that is a very strong step forward.
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CBS3: Given the sting of the coronavirus is still very much a reality with Pennsylvania nursing homes taking a deep hit, Philadelphia city leaders have resisted telling the public how many fire, police and EMS are off the job due to the virus. Couldn't the argument be, those figures are part of the big picture in understanding the gravity of this illness?
Casey: I think that there's no question that we need to be very clear about the scope of the problem. That's why the testing failure that has unfortunately gone on way too long, where all across the country states are asking for more help on testing and communities are as well that until you have a sense of the scope of the problem, you really can't tackle it. So knowing the full scope of the number of patients in a county or a region is going to be very, very important.
CBS3: Do you think Philadelphia should release the numbers of fire, police and EMS with COVID-19?
Casey: Well, I think transparency is going to be very important here. Knowing the full scope of the spread of the virus is going to be essential. Now, how that is done is a determination a city or a county has to make. They have to make determinations all the time about the nature of what they're releasing, but we have to know on a regular basis the full scope of this problem.
CBS3: Seven northeastern governors announced appointments to a multi-state council to restore the economy and get people back to work. What should be the first order of business for this meeting of the minds?
Casey: Well, first and foremost, they have to be, their work I should say, has to be informed by public health expertise and guidance by those who know a lot about the public health crisis, the virus, how you slow down the virus and how you stop the spread of the virus. And then, of course, how do you begin to open up the economy in a way that's safe? Because there's no reason to lunge forward recklessly if you're going to put more people at risk. One of the worst things for job creation, job retention and the economy, would be to have a spike in the numbers of coronavirus cases. We want to make sure that whether it's Pennsylvania, or any other state in our region, that this is done in accordance with public health guidance and public health expertise.
CBS3: On a personal note, I understand you're a new grandfather. What is the biggest challenge your own family facing is with the restrictions?
Casey: It's difficult because when you have your first grandchild, you, of course, want to see them, you want to see them up close and not from a distance. Fortunately, because of pictures and video capability, we're able to see him that way. It's going to be a while yet before I see my grandson, but that's the kind of reality that so many are living with.
And of course, so many other families are living with the reality of someone with the disease or someone who is gravely ill and others who are working on the frontline, especially in health care, so my situation isn't all that grave compared to those families.
In a statement to CBS3, a Philadelphia spokesperson said, "We share the Senator's concern about the lack of testing availability. That's why the Senator sent a letter to the Vice President, at our request, asking that 25,000 rapid tests per month be supplied to Philadelphia and each surrounding county. We've been very transparent about the number of people tested, the number of positives and those that succumbed. We need to be testing far more people, and we need the federal government to step up and ensure we can do that."
