Braun seeks pause in additional aid

U.S. Sen. Mike Braun on Wednesday urged Congress to hold off on additional spending for coronavirus relief.

Braun, R-Ind., said lawmakers should evaluate the effects of earlier aid packages before considering such proposals as the $3 trillion stimulus bill introduced by House Democrats, whom he accused of “political staging.”

“I think this is time to take a pause, see if (earlier legislation) is working before you take on anything of the magnitude” of the House proposal, Braun said in a conference call with Indiana reporters.

Congress has approved $2.8 trillion in coronavirus aid since early March for health care providers, individuals, businesses, furloughed workers and state and local governments. Additional congressional action should consist of “fixing what might have been overlooked,” Braun said.

“None of us here are going to blindly turn away from using the federal government to help. It's just that with what we've done already, and if we want this not to be a calamity in terms of debt that burdens future generations, we've got to be careful from here going forward,” Braun said.

Federal aid, he said, is “no substitute for a smart restart of the economy.”

Braun said President Donald Trump's restrictions on travel from China and Europe to the U.S. were the “probably two biggest things” done by the White House in a bid to slow the spread on the virus that has infected 1.4 million people in the U.S., killing about 84,000.

“Sure, the administration has not made every call perfectly. I don't know who would have in a case like this where we're in uncharted territory,” Braun said in response to a question about why he has criticized China's government but not the Trump administration for understating the severity of the outbreak early on. Trump said in January the virus was “totally under control,” and in February that it was “very much under control.”

Braun said delays in the production and distribution of coronavirus tests were caused by bureaucratic regulations at the Food and Drug Administration and other federal health agencies.

“I think part of it was inherited when the Trump administration took over,” he said. “Part of it I believe we may not have reacted to perfectly, but I think certainly having a more entrepreneurial approach to the agencies that are involved with health care as it relates to reforming health care in general or as it particularly applies to how do you navigate through something like this crisis, we're going to learn a lot about what needs to be fixed.”

Braun, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he favors the resumption of commercial activities even without universal testing for the virus.

“Do we wait until everybody is 100% going to have tests across the board? I don't think we have time to do that,” he said. “I think we've got to direct it at the most vulnerable. We have not done a good job protecting nursing homes and the caregivers in the trenches.”

He said businesses that have experienced “flare-ups” of COVID-19 among workers want tests to protect employees and customers. 

“I think we'll have enough to go forward safely,” he said.

bfrancisco@jg.net