Sen. Gardner under self-quarantine: Our obligation is to reset economy during health crisis
Colorado Senator Cory Gardner is in self-quarantine after coming in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who is self-quarantining in Washington, D.C., said Saturday that the coronavirus tripped a "circuit-breaker" in the U.S. economy and it is Congress' job to act for the benefit of the American people.
Gardner said on "America's News HQ" that most sectors of the economy have shuttered in response to the public safety aspect of the highly-contagious virus, and that has left millions of Americans without a steady income.
"This coronavirus has inserted a circuit breaker into our economy, the circuit breaker has been tripped and what we have to do is make sure that we reset that -- that we get this economy back and snapping back as soon as we're through this health emergency. That's our obligation," Gardner told host Leland Vittert.
Vittert asked Gardner about the trillions of dollars such a stimulus could cost, and also questioned whether there is a concern that some Constitutional rights could be infringed upon during this restrictive period.
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Gardner praised the American people for taking heed of the government's warnings and health care experts' advice to stay home and not congregate in groups.
"There are people terrified what's happening right now. I've talked to hundreds of them over the last hour alone and they have to have the certainty that we're taking care of them to get this economy to snap back, that they're going to be okay, going to be able to pay their mortgage and pay their rent and put food on the table and get back to work," said the lawmaker, who had just held a tele-town hall with constituents.
He said Colorado, like many other states are being hit hard by the economic downturn caused by the virus, noting that the early spring would normally be a popular time for ski resorts and general tourism throughout the state. He also said that the annual "bull sale" in the livestock sector will be canceled -- which is expected to hurt the Centennial State's many ranchers.
"Real change happens at moments of crisis," he said, pivoting to the subject of constitutional rights.
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'We have to make sure that that real change is in the spirit and best interest of this country, that it follows our constitution and our law and that we don't go too far that we don't violate rights. That's a balance that we have to succeed with."
You have a time frame when courts may be shutting down because they're afraid of the coronavirus, but courts are still there to uphold our rights.
"[O]ur constitution is crystal clear," Gardner continued. "It is not a series of things that we can do because the government is so generous it's going to let us do these things. It's actually a check on what ... the powers of the government."
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