Republicans Need to Listen to AOC’s Coronavirus Outbreak Plan

The most challenging aspect of the coronavirus outbreak is that the government has proven to be unreliable. President Donald Trump is a noted liar, so how can we believe anything he says? One day he says the coronavirus is just like the flu. The next, he issues a travel ban. While we wait to see how the U.S. government takes care of people right here at home, we do have at least one voice of reason during these uncertain times, and that’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

The New York City lawmaker has addressed several ways the government can assist the most vulnerable people who don’t have the luxury of working from home or have proper medical care. Firstly, however, yesterday, she and House Democrats introduced a bill today that would pay people on sick leave, provide unemployment insurance, food stamps, free coronavirus tests, but the Republicans quickly rejected paid sick leave. 

Just because the GOP rejected that bill, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t done voicing her concerns about the coronavirus and how the government should be helping during this crisis. 

“Right about now would be a great time to weigh emergency measures like: Extending Medicare/Medicaid coverage to all; Eviction freezes; No-strings universal basic income (UBI) programs; Eliminating work requirements for SNAP & other assistance; Humanitarian provisions in prisons & decarceral policies,” she listed on her Twitter page. 

She also stated that “The Federal government should consider pausing collection on student loan debt,” and “consider measures on mortgage relief.”

Today she reiterated, “This is not the time for half measures. We need to take dramatic action now to stave off the worst public health & economic affects. That includes making moves on paid leave, debt relief, waiving work req’s, guaranteeing healthcare, UBI, detention relief(pretrial, elderly, imm[igration]).”

Some may say Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is too radical with her ideas. Still, in reality, all she is asking for is assistance for the most vulnerable, especially during a health outbreak. So why can’t the government enact these policies? 

While she’s still campaigning for Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is showing us that not only is she multitasking the elections and working in D.C. during the coronavirus outbreak, she’s articulating why and how the government needs to come through and be helpful instead of issuing misleading information or rejecting helpful assistance programs. 

The Democrats are still pushing for legislative policies that would help all people in the U.S.