Gov. Cuomo Calls Out Leaders Who Failed to Prepare for COVID-19 - NowThis

[Rhiannon12866]

‘None of this had to be.’ — Gov. Cuomo calls out U.S. leaders who failed to prepare for the coronavirus.

In US news and current events today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says U.S. leaders failed to prepare for COVID-19. Most states with early mandates for shutting down, masks, & testing succeeded in flattening the curve. The U.S. now has 26% of the world’s confirmed coronavirus cases, as well as 23% of global deaths.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. I posted this since I think this is the bottom line, there was no preparation and STILL no plan

Even though we are over 5 months into this pandemic/shutdown/nightmare. And the governor made what I think is the most important point - without national leadership as we've seen in other countries which have successfully "flattened the curve," we're in serious trouble. It's tough enough to get everyone on board for a national effort, but with the politicization of the precautions that every single American should be observing now, we're in real trouble.

I'm extremely grateful that Andrew Cuomo is my governor and has been a leader on doing the next right thing to control this virus, yet there are still people even in my neck-of-the-woods who refuse to observe the mandates - masks required everywhere and those from certain states required to observe a 2-week quarantine. These are the most frightening times I've lived through and I can't see this resolving anytime soon.

[BigmanPigman]

4. Nothing successful will happen until we have a different

POTUS and Senate leader. There is NO plan! Covid will be with us as long as it is made into a political issue instead of a health issue.

Vietnam evacuated 80,000 people from DaNang after 3 people test positive. That is what we will never be able to do as long as Americans have the same BS attitude that is led by the GOP/team tRump.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/vietnam-evacuates-tourists-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html

We need to have economic and health systems in place and going 100% before we shut down and rwopen the right way. No more wasted time and money. Guarantee everyone has a job to return to, freeze rents/mortgages and wages, pay people who must go to work more, pay everyone who needs money to live on a weekly wage, have tons of schools rebuilt/modified, have internet in place for distance learning everywhere, have hospitals and schools fully stocked with equipment and supplies paid for by the Fed Govt, manufacture more tests and labs, manufacture more masks, PPE, etc., get the strict health guidelines agreed to and followed up/enforced, Fed Govt's supplies, spending and loans need oversight/watchdogs, have free health care and testing for everyone related to Covid, get the tests back within 24 hours, do real tracing, stick to the guidelines and NO reopening without adhering to them (punishment/fines if they do), etc.

Basically, do the stuff every other country that has successfully controlled Covid and reopened has done.

[LTG]

5. Use of Defense Production Act

The Defense Production Act has been used a number of times in the past for price, wage, rent and energy production and price controls. It can argued that invoking the powers of the Presidency under the DPA at this time for drug price controls is a permitted use of those powers. All that would be necessary to put the Executive Orders into effect would be for the appropriate Departments and Agencies to go through the administrative requirements of rule making necessary and appropriate to effectuate the the executive control of prices.

Congress keeps saying that the current emergency is one covered by the terms of the DPA and has called for its use. I’m sure this was not one of the uses they intended. Controlling the price of medicines is clearly connected to a pandemic, how broadly could be matter of contention. It would Just be an additional use of the Act in dealing with the health crisis. This gives it a fig leaf of legitimacy, and with Trump a small fig leaf is all he requires.

I’ve been a little confused of late by the assertions the the President has refused to invoke the Defense Production Act. It can be argued that it hasn’t been invoked extensively enough or effectively, But, he has invoked it several times to delegate DPA powers to the heads of various executive branch Departments, by either Memorandum or Executive order. He has certainly failed to utilize it for other critical needs.

He delegated to Dept of Agriculture the authority under the DPA to order meat production plants to remain Open even with the large outbreaks of COVID-19.

Authority was delegated to HHS to issue production and purchase orders to various companies to produce ventilators, masks and other PPE and to prevent hoarding and restricting purchase of essential materials to appropriate entities. The authority also allowed HHS to prioritize govt orders over all others.

I believe Treasury was delegated the power to restrict export of essential equipment and supplies without govt permission.

Congress even appropriated funds for expenditures under DPA. It is those expenditures that are one of the reasons the House has demanded better oversight and transparency. Those expenditures can be used to facilitate R&D or putting equipment into plants to increase production, both of which are issues involved with Operation Warp Speed. (Although it’s unclear what it has been spent on)

FEMA has had delegated authority to utilize DPA powers in emergencies for many years and has used that authority in the past. I know of no such use in the current emergency.

DOD also has standing authority under DPA and utilizes it as much as hundreds of thousands times per year in its purchasing and prioritizing of orders. Once more I had no knowledge of any such use in relationship to COVID-19.

On the flip side he could have utilized the Act to order increased production by appropriate companies of test kits and related items. That would have dramatically increased their supply and therefore testing ability. I’m sure that the same is true of many other emergency needs.

His more extensive use would have help tremendously in the fight against the pandemic.

[LTG]

8. Not so weird really

I looked at the applicable laws, the relationship of drugs to the use of the DPA and identied possible arguments that could be made in support of the executive action. As I said, the past actions of this administration has been requiring thin legal rationales to support their executive actions. It then revolves into legal wrangling.

Look at DACA, the Supreme Court didn’t say he couldn’t do it properly. Ow they’ll use that to stall actions while they follow the roadmap provided by the court. That will the. Be argued in the district court. Next delay will be to defend actual Constitutionally of the Executive order. It’s their pattern of fig leafs. Sometimes they work, sometime they don’t. But they always delay, sometimes while the desired actions continue.

Analysis of law and fact lead to issue identification which in turn lead to possible avenues of action and possible legal arguments It’s How I was taught, trainee, and often to the frustration of my wife, how my mind works. My wife says I over think everything. Sometimes it’s Acura’s, sometimes a blessing, it if you were to ask her, mostly a curse.

I also have a bad habit of dealing with multiple issues and thoughts at once with connections not always apparent. Particularly at 4:00 in the morning, while I should have been sleeping. I’m sorry if you connections and extensions were difficult to follow and needlessly obscure or convoluted.

ETA: it seems a further apology is in order. I started out to simply discuss of the DPA and included the use to control prices which I intended to reply to a different discussion. The perils of posting half asleep can be just as bad as those for posting drunk. Mea Culpa.

[magicguido]

7. Perhaps PRISON for donald trump? Dereliction of Presidential Duty?

[ancianita]

10. Totally works for me. AND Cuomo's got documentation on how Trump screwed NY on COVID.