Station: KFKA, 1310 am

Show:     Mornings with Gail

Guests:  Gardner, Cory

Link:      http://www.1310kfka.com/podcasts/gail/04/april-17-hr-2-senator-cory-gardner/

Date:     April 17, 2020     

Topics: Self-Quarantine, Homeschooling Tips, Reopen America, Data Driven, Health Care Professionals, Experts, Scientists, Economy with Confidence Phases, Unemployment Claims, Test kits, Available at 7-Eleven,

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HOST GAIL FALLON [00:00:00] Senator Gardner, thanks so much for taking the time. Great to have you back on the show.

U.S. SENATOR FROM COLORADO, CORY GARDNER [00:00:05] Well, thank you for having me. Thank you.

FALLON [00:00:07] Yes. And I hope you, your colleagues, your family, friends all doing well.

GARDNER [00:00:11] They are. You know, I had to self-quarantine for a while, but I was in Washington when that happened. So I never ended up with any kind of signs or symptoms. And the family’s doing great. We’re learning some homeschooling tricks and tips. So, it’s been interesting.

FALLON [00:00:25] Aren’t we all these days! So what is your take on the president’s plan to reopen the country?

GARDNER [00:00:31] You know, I have been studying them and looking, too. I spoke to the governor, Governor Polis, yesterday about them. And I think the governor used them generally in line with what he is looking at in Colorado and how that would work. So, look, we’re gonna have to figure out how to do this phase by phase. And I think it’s important that we focus on doing it in a way that builds trust and confidence in our economy, because you can’t have an economy without confidence. And so that’s going to be critical in getting these phases correct and the governor is who will implement the more detailed parts of the phases.

FALLON [00:01:03] President Trump saying yesterday that two states may well open today, but twenty-nine states may open earlier than expected. And given your conversations with Governor Jared Polis, I wonder, is Colorado among those twenty-nine states?

GARDNER [00:01:17] You know, in my conversations with the governor last week — again, we’re having another conversation with him today, later this morning with the congressional delegation — he had said that he felt confident that the 26th — the date [to reopen] — would hold. You know, and so I think he’s looking at phasing from that date to forward. What it looks like, maybe we’ll learn more today. But you’ve got states like Wyoming, where they’ve had few cases and you’ve got other states that may feel they can have areas open. But again, they’re going to have to phase this. Obviously, probably not having a, you know, an 80,000-person sporting event take place right away, but perhaps a metered or social distance events. But it’s important that we get this economy back open after handling the health emergency and making sure that we’re handling health emergency.

FALLON [00:02:00] More dreadful unemployment numbers yesterday, over 5.2 million additional Americans filed jobless claims, bringing that four-week total to over 22 million. Colorado has seen a 127% increase in unemployment claims, the highest in the nation. Why is Colorado so hard hit?

GARDNER [00:02:21] You know, I think if you look at the state, we have a lot of seasonal businesses that could have been more effective than others, whether it’s people coming off of work from the winter sports, you know, whether it’s a scary event or something like that. Or perhaps it’s people who aren’t going to get their summer jobs because they were coming to Colorado to start their summer activities. It could also be because we’re heavily reliant on industries that have been very hard-hit, like tourism, hotels, outdoor recreation economy, travel economy, restaurants. I mean, that’s — those have all been hit, not just hard, but they were the first ones to be hit. And that’s why I worked so hard to address the business support and the individual supports and making sure that we’re getting out of this health emergency immediately.

FALLON [00:03:05] Speaking of the business support, unfortunately, — or the lack thereof — this as the Paycheck Protection Program ran out of money because Democrats led by Speaker Pelosi blocked the necessary $250 billion replenishment for the program. Well, the question is, why did Nancy Pelosi on the Late Late Show show off her luxury refrigerators and $13-a-pint ice cream collection from her chateau in San Francisco instead of funding the paycheck protection program?

GARDNER [00:03:35] Well, it sure seemed a little bit like a Marie Antoinette moment  –“let them eat cake”. And it is sickening that they would put politics ahead of people. Look, fund the Paycheck Protection Program. It has kept millions and millions and millions of Americans in their jobs. Fund the Paycheck Protection Program, stop the politics, and keep the jobs. That’s what we ought to be focused on. It’s a shame that Nancy Pelosi can’t seem to get out of her San Francisco silo. We ought to be focusing on the people, not petty politics. It’s childish. It’s embarrassing. It’s unconscionable. And that’s why we have to stop Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer from blocking this funding, care about people more than we do about the bottom line in Washington, and get to work.

FALLON [00:04:15] Let’s talk a little bit about the import, particularly in Colorado, of small businesses across the state, because small business is responsible nationwide for — what? — upward [of] 80, 90 percent of jobs and job creation. But it’s even higher in Colorado.

GARDNER [00:04:30] It is an incredible high number, 99.5% of the jobs — er, uh of small–. Let me rephrase that. Ninety-nine point five percent of businesses in Colorado are small businesses. That is just astonishing. And what I don’t want to see is a Wall Street recovery without a Main Street recovery. And these small businesses represent Main Street. And let’s — it’s great if Wall Street recovers. I hope that it does. But we also cannot leave Main Street behind because that is not a recovery in my mind. We need all corners of our economy — every avenue — to be back open and flourishing again.

FALLON [00:05:04] Scammers, unscrupulous hackers — you know, the old saying:  “never let a good crisis go to waste” — have come up with diabolically ingenious ways to exploit the pandemic for financial gain. My understanding is you’re working on a legislative effort to address that, correct?

GARDNER [00:05:20] That’s exactly right. So, I’m working on a bill called the CEASE Act, which would increase dramatically penalties and jail time for people who are fraudulently advertising and trying to lure people into basically a criminal scheme where they’re saying, “Hey, you know, I’m a ‘John’s Loan Service. And I’ve got access to a Paycheck Protection Program loan. Just call me. Here’s the 800 number!” And the person makes the number for a small fee. They get connected to somebody that doesn’t exist. And we’re starting to hear that. It’s a shame. And so you should never be taking advantage of somebody, period. You should never be taking of somebody in a global health emergency and pandemic where people are scared for their lives, what they’re going to do for the rent, their food. And we have to make sure the punishment rises to the level of the seriousness of the crime.

FALLON [00:06:07] 7:13 now, 1310[a.m.] KFKA, “Mornings with Gail,” joined up by Colorado senator, Cory Gardner. All right. So as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I wanted to ask you this question. This is: class action suits are being filed against China for recklessness and negligence and lack of transparency — let’s call it for what it is, outright lies — regarding the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan that spread, well, around the world as we’re well aware. Can China be sued?

GARDNER [00:06:37] You know, right now, that’s a — it’s a question that’s being looked at, and legislation that has been introduced to try to address that. But China has to be held accountable. Regardless of anything we do, China must be held accountable for what they have done to the world, not just to the United States. They lied about its origin. They lied about its spread. They lied about how it could spread and how dangerous it was. And then they covered it up by forcing the disappearance of the doctors and the journalists who were trying to blow the whistle on what was happening in China. And then they got the World Health Organization — W.H.O — to be complicit in that cover-up. It is. It is — it’s — it’s criminal.

FALLON [00:07:17] Absolutely. Before I let you go this morning, I certainly appreciate your time and insights. [There are] many concerns — and I’m sure that you heard them, as well — over constitutional rights and liberties throughout the government lockdowns, the stay-at-home orders, limiting the number of people in gatherings. And then you’ve got Michigan Governor Gretchen Witmer now facing a federal lawsuit — several! — for what many see as particularly draconian restrictions. Now, on one hand, it could be argued that these steps were necessary. Look at it this way: shared sacrifice equals shared benefit. But on the other hand, there are very real concerns that these encroachments on our freedoms will become the new normal. How do you see it?

GARDNER [00:08:02] Well, look, we’re going to follow the recommendations of our health experts. But when you see a governor — and I think this governor was from Connecticut — go on TV and say that in response to whether he’s concerned about the orders that he has made [and their] impact on our Bill of Rights, his response was, “Well, frankly, that’s above my pay grade and I didn’t pay any attention to that.” That’s un- — tha — that — the Bill of Rights isn’t optional. And so the law has to be followed. Look, we are acting out of love — not fear of the coronavirus. We’re acting out of love to protect our neighbors and our community and make sure that our parents and grandparents, that we stop the spread, [that] we don’t give it on to them. But we have the Constitution to follow. And that’s why — I know courts around the country have already been engaged in this issue, as they should be and will be. But to think that the Bill of Rights doesn’t apply is just –it’s absurd! It makes no sense. I mean, how did that person even get elected?

FALLON [00:08:52] And as we see the reopening of America, of course, in a very measured manner, testing remains tantamount, right?

GARDNER [00:09:00] Yes, it does. Testing is key, Gail. Testing, testing, testing is what has to happen. I’d like to see it a test so available that you can go to a 7-Eleven and buy that test, and you know, “I had a sore throat, make sure I’m okay.” I get the results 30 seconds later, minutes later, and I know whether I should stay home — call work and say, “Hey, I tested positive” — or, “Hey, you know what? It may just be a cold.  Maybe I still need to go to the doctor, but at least it’s not COVID-19.” And we need the serology test to know for antibodies. And we need to be able to show who has been able to get through this, and we could learn from that, and just have the certainty and the confidence. Because as we started at the beginning, our economy thrives on confidence. And confidence comes in people knowing that we have addressed this issue and they’re going to be okay. And testing is a sort of keystone of that.

FALLON [00:09:44] Confidence [is] absolutely important in these very troubled times. Senator Cory Gardner, thank you so much for your time. Certainly do appreciate it.

GARDNER [00:09:54] Thanks, Gail. Thanks for having me. Take care!

FALLON [00:09:54] You, too.