Joe Biden promised Wednesday that he would harness billions of dollars in FEMA disaster aid to pay for supplies like masks and hand sanitizer to help schools reopen, if he's victorious on Election Day.
The former vice president made that commitment during a speech in Delaware, kicking off a Democratic campaign blitz this week to blame President Donald Trump as parents and students throughout the country struggle with virtual learning and sudden school closures amid coronavirus outbreaks.
“If president Trump and his administration had done their jobs early on with this crisis, American schools would be open, and they’d be open safely," Biden said during the speech.
Key context: FEMA put state and local governments on notice this week that the federal government will not use disaster assistance money to reimburse schools for protective equipment and cleaning supplies for reopening. “Normal operation of schools and other public facilities are not emergency protective measures, so FEMA would not provide funding for these activities in these circumstances,” a FEMA spokesperson told POLITICO on Wednesday.
Schools are still eligible for billions of dollars in federal assistance for reopening through the Cares Act, H.R. 748 (116), which was enacted in March, and can use that money for things like disinfectant and masks. The Department of Health and Human Services is also providing up to 125 million cloth masks to states for distribution to schools.
“Now Trump’s FEMA director is cutting schools loose,” Biden said. This is an emergency, Mr. president. This is an emergency. And Donald Trump and his FEMA should treat it as one.”
The Biden campaign plans to spend the week holding events bashing Trump as being responsible for many U.S. schools beginning the academic year with distance learning amid the pandemic.
“Too many classrooms are empty because of President Trump's continued and willful failure to offer a meaningful plan to address COVID-19,” Symone Sanders, senior adviser to Biden, told reporters.
Driving home the claim that he heeds expert advice on recovering from the pandemic, Biden met Wednesday with former HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, who is now president of American University, as well as leaders from Johns Hopkins, the California State Board of Education and the Harvard Global Health Institute.
“We believe this is a key contrast for voters,” Sanders said. “President Trump, who continues to ignore the science and has no plan to get the virus under control, and Joe Biden, who is working with the experts and putting together an aggressive plan to beat the virus and reopen schools safely.”
What’s next: Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), will join Democratic Sen. Tina Smith in Minnesota this week for a discussion with parents about returning to school during the pandemic. The Biden-Harris ticket will also host events focused on school reopening in Ohio, New Hampshire, Maine and Colorado, with Sarah Jessica Parker and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).
Jill Biden is in the midst of a multi-week, 10-city school tour through eight battleground states.
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September 03, 2020 at 02:10AM
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Biden pins school reopening chaos on Trump as FEMA denies assistance - POLITICO
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