The nation's economy won't "magically jump" back into place through the help of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill as long as people are hiding in their homes and afraid, Sen. Joe Manchin said Tuesday.
“Right now, the frontline is the virus itself," the West Virginia Democrat told CNN's "New Day." "You can’t throw enough money at this and basically think the economy is just going to magically jump back when people are basically sheltering in place, not leaving. They’re scared."
In addition to the money, "we want to make sure that we have treatment, we want to make sure that we a vaccine that works, all these things, and the health care is stable enough that we can be there to protect it. That’s what we have to do," said the senator.
Also, the nation's industries must be helped to stay afloat, said Manchin.
He added that once the bill is passed, with the vote to approve it expected on Tuesday, checks to American households should "hopefully" be coming in April.
"We already have a system in place to get checks," said Manchin. "Waive the waiting period of one week or so (and) let’s get it moving. Basically, what we’re doing is doubling up and trying to help them recover as quickly as we can to have money in their pockets to be able to do something."
Meanwhile, Manchin told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" that it is important for now to avert a financial meltdown," as the country is already in a medical meltdown.
"The basic significance of this bill should be based around can we find the treatment for the virus, can we basically have a vaccine that we can hopefully as quickly as possible," he said. "That could be at least a year or more."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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