“Diversion of Funds Has Created this Trump-Cornyn Healthcare Crisis in Texas”
The number of Texans infected with coronavirus continues to grow each day and we continue to lack adequate testing, equipment and supplies across the state to fight the spread of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is still spending billions of dollars to build his costly and useless wall at the expense of the well being of the American people, without any objection from Sen. John Cornyn.
It’s clear that the national effort against COVID-19 should be our singular focus during these trying times. Yet President Trump’s border wall obsession continues, wasting precious resources that are critical to containing this epidemic.
As a must-read op-ed in The Hill from Gail Emrick published this week, executive director of the Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center, reminds us:
The Trump administration has a staggering $18.4 billion border wall budget, most of it diverted from other federal agencies’ programs that are intended to protect national security. Wall construction money should instead be used to save lives and slow the spread of COVID-19.
At the same time, the administration has undermined our capacity to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak through staff and budget cuts. In 2018, the administration disbanded the National Security Council’s pandemic unit, and have also disastrously diminished the Center for Disease Control staffing.
Mario Carrillo, Texas-based Campaigns Manager of America’s Voice, said:
At a time of uncertainty and fear, Texans expect our elected officials to do everything they can to protect us and help fight this pandemic. Instead, as the number of coronavirus infections keep growing in our state, Sen. Cornyn continues to rubber stamp President Trump’s wasteful border wall that has taken billions of dollars from our emergency preparedness funds, which are sorely needed and lacking today.
The border wall is a symbol of waste, fraud, and xenophobia. And the diversion of funds has created a Trump-Cornyn healthcare crisis in Texas. As the Trump administration remains “wary” over spending $1 billion for desperately needed ventilators in American communities, they want to spend almost twenty fold on an unnecessary border wall that won’t protect us from this virus. And where is Sen. Cornyn? He’s deflected blame to China, relying on the racism perpetuated by this administration and doing nothing to protect Texans.
In times of crisis, we all need to come together, but instead Sen. Cornyn continues to allow the administration to push anti-immigrant rhetoric in order to distract Texans from the utter failure of the Trump-Cornyn crisis. Texans deserve better.
