Trump Bets the Pharma on U.S.
Because China kept the world in the dark about its outbreak, tens of thousands of people are dead.
“The world owes China a thank you.” To most people, the words from the Xinhua news service, hit like a ton of bricks. With the entire planet in crisis and leaders scrambling to stop another Great Depression, the communist regime is wrong. What the world is owed is an apology.
Because China kept the world in the dark about its outbreak, tens of thousands of people are dead. National economies are on the brink. The world, as we know it, has come to a halt. Now, Chinese officials, with their already fragile reputation in the gutter, is looking for somebody to blame. “They clearly mishandled the coronavirus,” Asia expert Gordan Chang explained on “Washington Watch.” “They kept it secret for at least six months, maybe even more. And now they need to say it wasn’t us. It didn’t come from us. We are the victims.”
Now, furious at the flood of criticism world leaders are directing their way, China is responding the only way they know how: with threats and lies. “There have been a series of propaganda pieces [coming out of] Beijing which say that if the United States doesn’t do this or that, China could cut off the supply of pharmaceuticals and medical protective gear – and throw the U.S. into ‘a mighty sea of coronavirus.’”
To a lot of experts, Gordon included, the important thing isn’t whether China will go through with it, but whether they could go through with it. And given their stranglehold on American supply chains – everything from gloves, masks, gowns, and medicine – the risk is a serious one. Believe it or not, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) pointed out, “up to 80 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients in American drugs are sourced abroad.” In places like China, that gives the Communist party incredible leverage over the U.S. – especially if we get to a point of widespread shortages or dire need.
And while a global pandemic isn’t how most leaders would choose to deal with this, one of the positive things about this crisis is that it’s forcing government to reevaluate its supply chains. America is “dangerously reliant,” Rubio (R-Fla.) warned, on “important lifesaving goods.” This problem isn’t new to President Trump and his team. For his entire first term, he’s tried to bring the manufacturing of American goods back home. Now, staring down a savage Chinese regime, bent on bringing disaster to America, that becomes an even more urgent priority.
Earlier this week, one of the president’s key trade advisors, Peter Navarro, said he was drafting an executive order that would limit America’s dependence on foreign manufacturers for medicine. When the president signs it (which may be this week), a big chunk of our essential pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and equipment productions would come back to U.S. soil, where it can’t be exploited by bad actors like China. “The movement of supply chains and production and essential medicines to the U.S. is not just a matter of public health and economic security, it’s a matter of national defense,” Navarro insisted.
In response to the pushback from Big Pharma, which seems to care more about keeping costs down and profits up than keeping America safe, Navarro made it clear: “Nothing in the order will prevent us from getting what we need, when we need it, and from wherever we need it.” Our country has too many vulnerabilities, Rubio argued – at a time when it can afford none. Taking back control of our own medical destiny will “help stabilize the U.S. economy, potentially help save American lives, and strengthen our ability to mitigate the effects of disease. Most importantly, it would be a high-return investment in our long-term capacity and independence from China during a moment when supply chains are up for grabs.”
Originally published here.
Twist of Faith: More States Tackle Virus with Church Help
The government can’t do everything. And Governor Pete Ricketts (R-Nebr.) knows it. With Nebraska’s infection rates climbing, and more people hunkered down at home, the Cornhuskers decided to call in reinforcements: the church.
“We all need prayers as we work through this challenging time,” Governor Ricketts tweeted. But just as importantly, he needs congregations and their families to pitch in. Nebraska can’t do it alone, he agreed, so he conferenced in 500 faith leaders and let them know the state was in this together. “I wanted to let them know how we were making decisions at the state,” Ricketts told me on “Washington Watch” Thursday, but also, he said, “I want[ed] to solicit help.” First on the list? Prayer. “Not only for myself,” he explained, “but all of our health care workers, our first responders, all of our leaders across this nation are working to address this challenge.”
A lot of people can’t leave their homes – because they’re either sick or at risk. “They may need errands run. They may need food dropped off. We’re asking those faith leaders to really leverage their congregations who will know folks in their communities [and adopt them].” Like a lot of leaders, Governor Ricketts is doing everything he can from a statewide perspective, but he also realizes that Nebraskans need boots on the ground. “We’re not there in the local community… as much as our [churches] are. So we want their help.”
In particular, Ricketts pointed out, they want to make sure the parents on the front lines of this virus battle have child care. “We’re asking for the help from those faith leaders to be able to help set that up, so that our health care workers and our police and firefighters can go to work to continue to protect the public… [That’s] a huge problem if they can’t find places to have their kids looked after during the day.” Churches, he thinks, can offer some relief.
Has it been tough? Absolutely. Like everyone else in his position, this is unchartered territory. “This is a huge challenge for our country,” Governor Ricketts admitted, “but it also represents a time for us to take a step back and reflect on what’s really important. And now, we have an opportunity now to show what’s really important by loving our neighbors and helping take care of them.”
Our hats go off to men of faith like Governor Ricketts, who recognize what a fundamental role pastors and faith leaders play in times of crisis. What a refreshing change from the hard-core liberals, who see the religious community as an obstacle rather than a partner.
“We do a lot of really important things in government, but one thing government can’t do is love. That takes people…”
To find out more about how you can get your congregation involved, check out David Closson’s “Be Not Afraid: How Churches and Church Leaders Can Respond to the Coronavirus.”
Originally published here.
A Blunt Assessment of the Virus Relief
The streets are empty, but the Senate is full as members tackle another full day of debate over the government’s coronavirus response. Friday morning, Democrats joined Republicans at the negotiating table, putting their heads together on what they hope will be the fastest and most effective way to stop the economic freefall. The goal? To reach an agreement before the end of the day.
With more experts trotting out dire new predictions about the economy, the clock is ticking. For days, senators have been racing to shore up businesses and families before the worst of the outbreak hits. President Trump signed the second aid package Thursday, leaving Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in charge of brokering a deal for the third wave. Everything is on the table – from putting checks in the mail to Americans to bucking up flailing industries like the airlines.
“It’s almost certain,” Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told me Thursday on “Washington Watch,” “that a substantial part of what we do for economic stimulus will be done through individuals and families. [We are] kind of the working assumption right now that about half of that trillion dollars would go directly to individuals who are parts of families that make less than, say, $75,000 per individual…” The idea is, he said, to get that money pumping back into the economy. “…[T]here are going to be lots of families that are going to have expenses they didn’t anticipate because of lost work or additional child-care costs or additional cost of various kinds. And we intend to see that money out of Washington and in people’s hands by the first few days of April, if we can get that done at all.”
In Wednesday’s bill, Blunt pointed out, the focus was keeping people on the payroll and making sure businesses could afford it. Now, moving into this bigger package, senators will be looking for ways “to create access to low-interest loans and other things.” One of the silver linings here, Senator Blunt and I agreed, is that “unlike the 2008 effort to get the economy going again… there’s nothing systematically wrong with this economy. What’s wrong is that because of this virus, people have been encouraged to step back and not be part of the normal economy. And that is creating real, real problems. And we’re going to try to do all we can to moderate those problems and get us to where, when we’re a few weeks down the road – maybe even two or three months down the road – we’re not that far from where we would have been if this crisis hadn’t developed.”
Originally published here.
This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.
