The Daily Signal - 'The Collaboration At The Highest Levels of Government From State and Local Up to the President Is Unparalleled,' Georgia Senator Says of Coronavirus

Episode Date: March 13, 2020

Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia is the first woman from Georgia ever to vote in the United States Senate. She appointed to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Johnny Isakson, a Republican, and took the oath of office on January 6, 2020. She joins me on The Daily Signal podcast to talk about transitioning from the private sector to the public sector, what she’s most passionate about working on as a new member of Congress, as well as her perspective on how President Trump has handled the coronavirus.  We also cover these stories: President Trump spoke further Thursday about the travel ban to Europe. "I made a very tough decision last night and a very tough decision a long time ago with respect to China," Trump said. The Senate will stay in session next week, despite a scheduled recess, in order to give lawmakers additional time to address coronavirus. The state of California is asking that all mass gatherings be postponed or cancelled for the rest of March.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Get the yes you've been waiting for at Capital One.ca.ca. Yes. Terms and conditions apply. This is the Daily Signal podcast for Friday, March 13th. I'm Virginia Allen. And I'm Rachel Del Judis. Senator Kelly Leffler of Georgia was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Johnny Isaacson, a Republican, and she took the oath of office on January 6th. She joins me on the Daily Signal podcast to talk about transitioning from the private sector to the public sector and what she's most passionate about working as a new member of Congress. We also talk about her perspective on how President Trump has handled the coronavirus. Don't forget, if you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star rating on Apple podcast and encourage others to subscribe. Now on to our top news.

President Trump spoke further Thursday about the travel ban to Europe. I made a very tough decision last night and a very tough decision a long time ago with respect to China, Trump said, per Politico. I don't want people dying. and that's why I made these decisions. Vice President Mike Pence appeared on the Today Show Thursday to discuss it, addressing the travel ban and how many Americans might get coronavirus in an interview with Savannah Guthrie. Well, let me be clear that from early on,

the president has declared a public health emergency, suspended all travel from China. We limited travel and issued advisories for portions of Italy and South Korea. and now the suspension of travel from Europe, precisely for the reason that we know there will be thousands more cases of coronavirus in this country. Thousands or millions. But, well, I'll leave to the experts to make the estimates

of how many people may be infected. And it's important for your viewers to remember, Savannah, that the vast majority of people, even that contract the coronavirus, will experience flu-like symptoms, and they'll fully recover. But it's because of the vulnerable population, seniors with serious chronic underlying health conditions

that were focusing so much attention on nursing homes. We're communicating so much with health officials and families that have seniors in a vulnerable condition. We're looking at the most vulnerable. We're combating community spread. But the action the president took yesterday, again, unprecedented action, suspending travel from Europe for 30 days,

is all because we know there will be more infections in the days ahead. We're trying to hold that number down as much as possible. That's the reason the president took the action regarding Europe. President Trump said he isn't worried about meeting with the press secretary of the president of Brazil, who has since tested positive for coronavirus. Let's put it this way. I'm not concerned, Trump said to media Thursday at the White House. Trump, who had dinner with the press secretary Saturday at Marilago, said, We did nothing unusual.

We sat next to each other for a period of time and had great conversation. He's doing a terrific job in Brazil. We'll find out what happens. The Senate will stay in session next week despite a scheduled recess in order to give lawmakers additional time to address coronavirus. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted Thursday, Notwithstanding the scheduled state work period, the Senate will be in session next week. I am glad talks are ongoing between the administration and speech.

Speaker Pelosi. I hope Congress can pass bipartisan legislation to continue combating the coronavirus and keep our economy strong. The state of California is asking that all mass gatherings be postponed or canceled for the rest of March and that non-essential gatherings must be limited to no more than 250 people, while smaller events can proceed only if the organizers can implement social distancing of six feet per person, according to the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Gatherings of individuals who are at a higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should be limited to no more than 10 people while also following social distancing guidelines, according to the governor's office. In a statement, Newsom said,

Changing our actions for a short period of time will save the life of one or more people you know. That's the choice before us. Each of us has the extraordinary power to slow the spread of this disease. not holding that concert or community event can have cascading effects, saving dozens of lives and preserving critical health care resources that your family may need a month from now. The people in our lives who are most at risk, seniors and those with underlying health conditions, are depending on all of us to make the right choice.

Italy, one of the country's hardest hit by coronavirus, continues to struggle. NBC News reports that now over 1,000 people have died in Italy, and there are over 15,000 cases, a more than 20% increase since Wednesday, despite the entire nation being under lockdown right now. Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, said Thursday that Iran is behind a rocket attack that killed two American troops and a military official from the United Kingdom. Esper told media at the Pentagon, yesterday's attacked by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups consisted of multiple indirect fires that originated from a stationary platform and was clearly

targeting coalition and partner forces at Camp Tajee. We're going to take this one step at a time, but we've got to hold the perpetrators accountable. You don't get to shoot at our bases and kill and wound Americans and get away with it, Asper said. Well, if you were hoping to distract yourself from the coronavirus by following your favorite sports team, think again. Two basketball players with the Utah Jazz now have coronavirus, and the NBA has suspended basketball games for the foreseeable future. It's not the only sports league reacting. Both the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer have also suspended games for now.

Up next, my interview with Senator Kelly Leffler of Georgia. Do you have an opinion that you'd like to share? Leave us a voicemail at 202-608-6205 or email us at letters at dailysignal.com. Yours could be featured on the Daily Signal podcast. I'm joined today on the Daily Signal podcast by Senator Kelly Leffler of Georgia. Senator Leffler, thank you so much for being with us today. It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.

Well, thank you so much for being with us. So you were recently appointed to the Senate to fill the vacancy that Senator Isaacson left. What has it been like to go from the private sector into the public sector? That's right. So I joined two months ago this weekend. It's really been a whirlwind, but it's really been a whirlwind. in a positive way, I've been able to jump in and use my experience in getting results to already start working on positive legislation for Georgia and also contribute to some of the

conservative work that I wanted to get done up here, and it's just been two months. So can you tell me a little about your work in the private sector and how that has influenced you as a senator? So in December, I was still working in the private sector, leading a small startup fintech company after about a 28-year career. I stepped out of the private sector to public service. And, you know, the benefit of having that track record, if you will, of private sector experiences, I've been a job seeker and I've been a job creator. So not only have I signed the back of a paycheck, but I've seen.

sign the front of a paycheck. And I know what it means to make a budget, to deliver on commitments, to meet the expectations of stakeholders, shareholders, and others such as employees, to make sure that you're delivering for them. And I think I bring a lot of outsider perspective to Washington, and I think that's helpful from, particularly in matters of economic, national security, and other stabilizing factors that give us a strong economic environment. Well, you came into the Senate on the heels of the impeachment trial. Can you tell us what that was like? So impeachment started about within a week of me being sworn in,

and it was truly a moment in history. I felt it was my duty as a judge and juror and impeachment to take very careful notes, to listen, but also to advance through that process quickly so we could get back to the work of the American people. And, you know, I thought that this process was important to have it play out, and it was also important that we reached an acquittal, in my view, because it did not meet the standard of impeachment, and there was no evidence. So we moved on quickly and got back to working for the American people.

Well, on that subject, you're a co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act. Can you tell us about this legislation and why it's important? So, look, I came out of the private sector. I am very accustomed to having to meet an annual budget. And what happens in the private sector is typically you set a budget and you're asked to not meet it, but outperform it. So I think it's common sense legislation that says we in government need to be accountable for the costs that we're asking taxpayers to cover. And we need to also be accountable for the results. And so this is one of my priorities is to make sure that we are focused on delivering those results in a cost-effective manner for taxpayers and that we get our budget under control and start to address the deficit because,

this comes on the back of future generations. Well, something else you've mentioned your passion about is health care. Can you talk a little bit about that? And if there's one thing in the health care legislation realm that you're excited about or wanted to talk about, what would that be? Well, there's many things I'm excited about in health care because there's a lot of potential for improvement. As I go around our state and talk to folks across the country,

it doesn't matter what industry they're in, whether they're in a small business, a large business, farming, a family. Healthcare is at the top of the list of issues that they care about and that they think needs to improve. And so one of the recent bills that I'm sponsoring is to bring more access, more innovation to health care in rural communities.

So where you have this move toward urbanization, you're losing care providers in rural communities. And so I want to make sure that those communities are supported. And I also think we just need to continue to look at, you know, Obamacare has driven costs way too high. It's not working. I think pre-existing condition coverage is critical, but the costs skyrocketing has impacted too many working families. I'm hearing of farmers having to send their wives to go get a job so that their employer-provided health insurance can serve the needs of the family because they can no longer afford. insurance in the private market, and that's a really tough situation.

Well, you've also done some work on immigration reform, and looking at that area of policy. Is there something there, a particular policy, or something else that you're working on, that you want to talk about? I recently co-sponsored a bill to stop greenlighting driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, and this is important because we should not be providing federal funding to state and local governments that don't adhere to federal immigration law. And I think money talks and when you follow the law, then you can receive the funding. But we have to fix the crisis at the border.

We have to address our immigration, you know, enforce the law there, and then we can start talking about other factors around how to address this immigration issue. Well, thank you for sharing that. Something else your team has highlighted that you've talked about is school safety. Looking at that issue, what are you hearing from Georgians and also what are you wanting to work on to address that topic of policy? Well, certainly I think school safety is critical. I grew up in public schools. I can't imagine having to have some of the concerns that we have today.

So I've been very supportive of law enforcement, making sure. that, you know, not just law enforcement, but our public education system will have the resources they need. And, you know, I think it's, you know, we're at a starting point. We haven't solved for it, but I think that there's more to come. Well, something else that you've talked about a lot is you're very pro-life. That's something that you're very convicted about, which is a beautiful thing. What kind of legislation are you looking at working on in this arena when it comes to the life issue. Well, I recently introduced an informed consent, so women's right to know legislation with Marsha Blackburn. The idea is just to make sure that an abortion procedure is covered by the same

informed consent that goes along with other medical procedures. It's a common sense piece of legislation that also helps patients know that there are other options, lets them know the health risks and that's in addition to four or five other pieces of pro-life legislation, including the 20-week paying capable legislation introduced by Lindsay Graham as well as the Born Alive Bill. Unfortunately, neither of those passed, but I was proud to support them. Well, you mentioned how neither of those passed, and I believe, I think it was only three Democrat senators that voted for both of those pieces of legislation.

Did you have any reflections walking away from that vote? on some, you know, pieces of legislation that a lot of people shouldn't say shouldn't be controversial. Yeah, I mean, certainly, again, it's common sense to say that if a baby is born after a botched abortion and the baby is born alive, this, you know, every effort should be made to keep that infant alive. And it's just unimaginable that an infant could be delivered and then not cared for. So it's, to me, it's not an abortion issue as much. It's a life issue. This is life that is before us, and we're snuffing that life out. And I don't understand the enthusiasm.

I can't wrap my head around it. Well, you're one of the leading conservative women in the Senate. And I'm curious on your thoughts are if you'd like to see more conservative women in politics, and how do you think that could be encouraged? It's a great question. And I think as I've gone through my career, I mean, I've broken glass ceilings in business, in sports, and now working in the Senate. I'm the first woman from Georgia to vote in the Senate ever to cast a vote. And look, I think, you know, I said this when I was appointed, you know, not every strong, successful woman is a liberal and not you don't have to be shrill to be strong.

And I think having a range of styles for women and letting them know that they have to have a voice. Like you may not know everything about public policy and you do not need to because as a citizen of the United States, you know all you need to know to get involved. So I hope me being involved will encourage other women to step forward, serve their communities, their states, our country in different ways. And I'm just honored to be here. and I think increasingly this needs to not be as much of a gender issue as just saying, look, it's no matter what, we have people from all walks of life that are working for our country to support it. And that's what I think I bring as a political outsider. I'm bringing a perspective not just as a woman, but as a businesswoman.

And, you know, I began my life on a family farm. I've lived the American dream. And I want to just bring that to others across our country. country. Well, thank you so much for sharing that. We did cover a lot of ground. And as we wrap up, I just wanted to ask if there's anything else in particular that you want to talk about something you're passionate that you're working on right now that is in the forefront of your mind that you want to leave listeners with. Well, since it's a timely topic, I'll just mention my work with my colleagues and the administration on coronavirus. I want to, first of all, commend

President Trump and this administration for their tireless work. I've seen it firsthand. I traveled to the CDC last week with the president and my colleague, Senator David Purdue. And, you know, the work the CDC does, NIH, Health and Human Services, we can be very proud as a country that while this virus did not start here, we are clearly going to be the country that solves for it, whether it's diagnostics, treatment, and vaccines. And this is something that's really unprecedented in terms of our lifetimes, but the level of sophistication in our medical community, the collaboration at the highest levels of government from state and local up to the president is unparalleled. So I think, you know, we will get through this, and the economy

is starting from a strong base. And so we just have to pull together to make sure that we minimize the health and economic impacts in the best way that we can do. Well, Senator Leffler, thank you so much for joining us today on the Daily Signal podcast. Thanks. It was great to be here. Are you looking for quick conservative policy solutions to current issues? Sign up for Heritage's weekly newsletter, The Agenda. In the Agenda, you will learn what issues Heritage Scholars on Capitol Hill are working on, what position conservatives are taking, and links to our in-depth research.

The agenda also provides information on important events happening here at Heritage that you can watch online, as well as media interviews from our experts. Sign up for the agenda on heritage.org today. Actor Tom Hanks announced Thursday that he and his wife tested positive for coronavirus while traveling abroad in Australia, the New York Times reported. On Twitter, Hank said, Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired like we had colds and some body aches.

Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers, too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus and were found to be positive. Well, now what? The medical officials have protocols that must be followed. We, Hanks, will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?

We'll keep the world posted and updated. Take care of yourselves. Hanks. Tom Hanks' son, Chet Hanks, released a video thanking fans for their support and well-wishes. Here's what he had to say via Complex. What's up, everyone? Yeah, it's true. My parents got coronavirus crazy. They're both down in Australia right now because my dad was shooting a movie down there.

But I just got off the phone with them. They both are fine. They're not even that sick. They're not worried about it. They're not tripping, but they're going through the necessary health precautions, obviously. But I don't think it's anything to be too worried about. I appreciate everyone's concern and the well wishes. but I think it's all going to be all right.

But I appreciate it and just everybody stay safe out there. Much love. Well, joining me here in the studio is Thalia Rampersad, one of our podcast producers as well as Virginia Allen, who you know from the podcast. Thalia, to start things off, what is your takeaway from this? Well, Rachel, I think like much of America, I was absolutely devastated to read that headline last night

about Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson as, they are true American gems and have kind of been a staple in pop culture for the last 20, 30 years. And so, yeah, it was really scary. And I think it kind of was almost an even greater wake-up call to us because as Americans, that this is hitting pretty close to home and thinking like, you know, Tom Hanks is 63 years old. He has type 2 diabetes. So he is in that category of people, you know, that we have to really watch out for and take like strong. precautionary measures if they were to contract this virus, which he did. And so, yeah, it was

scary. And I know we'll all be watching this story very closely. It's not good news. And I hope everyone's staying safe. And I think also, too, just for us, speaking for us, because we're younger, people are saying that, you know, we're not as likely to see a fatal result from this. But we also want to make sure that we're careful for, and we are, you know, taking the correct measures for the older generations. Exactly. Yeah, I mean, we all have grandparents. I know even my grandma lives with my family right now in Ohio, so they're even watching out for her. You can't ask me, because I was at CPAC, one of the conferences where someone was positive, tested positive for it. So that's very, very real. Virginia, what are your takeaways from this piece of news that we

learned of? I think I'm glad to see that Tom Hanks is reacting the way that he is, that he's not panicking, He's not adding to the confusion. He's staying really calm. And he's letting people know like, okay, this is actually something that now is hitting people really close to home. It's no longer just something happening in a faraway country. But it's become personal to people now. But with that said, I trust that Tom Hanks has really good doctors and we are really blessed in America to have great doctors. So I'm confident that, you know, we're going to see this, you know, Lord willing.

and soon, sooner rather than later. But like Thalia said, I think the biggest lesson and takeaway for young people does need to be, okay, think about the people that you are surrounding yourself with. If you do have older parents, if you live close to your grandparents, maybe, maybe, you know, don't take public transportation and then go visit them at their house. Like, just use wisdom in this season. Yeah, no, I have to say that's so true. And it hit home for me, too, because a lot of my friends back in Ohio, we are all in a group message and they were going to have a debate watch party Sunday night and they were going to have pizza and just chill out. And then one of my friends sent a message this morning and he's like actually most of us have been traveling. I wouldn't have been able to make it because

I'm here right now in D.C., but he's like a lot of you, all of us have been traveling. So we're just going to, you know, forego this for the time being. So that did really hit home too where he's like, out of love for my grandparents. We're just going to hit pause on this. So you're exactly right. Any final thoughts? I mean, yeah. And we're seeing this with the, the big sporting leagues as well, NBA, NHL, MLB, I believe is most recently. So, yeah, so people are really, I know, taking this seriously, and that's really good to see. And hopefully the effects of that will show in the next month or so that we realize the gravity of the situation. And we're doing the best that we can as Americans to get us back to where we were.

And that will do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for listening to the Daily Signal podcast brought to you from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. Please be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify. And please leave us a review or a rating on Apple Podcasts and give us your feedback. Robin Virginia, we'll see you on Monday. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. It is executive produced by Kate Shrenko and Rachel Del Judas.

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