Catch up on the facts.

Get the facts on the unfolding crisis.

[1]

STATEMENTS FROM LEADERSHIP

President Trump

Since March 13, President Trump has held daily press briefings with Vice
President Pence and the White House Coronavirus Task Force to go over the
latest COVID-19 developments. You can find the transcripts for each
briefing [2]here.

Senate Majority Leader

Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has given multiple speeches on the floor of
the U.S. Senate in response to COVID-19, including one on March 25 where he
assured Americans that "...the Senate will act to help the people of this
country weather this storm." Find all of his statements on the coronavirus
[3]here.

House Majority Leader

House Leader Nancy Pelosi has made many statements on how Congress has been
responding to COVID-19, including sending letters to Democratic colleagues
and tweets to the general public. Find all of her statements on the
coronavirus [4]here.

VOTES

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

In an effort to send aid to American businesses and workers, members of
Congress negotiated an economic stimulus package. On March 23, the Senate
voted 49-46 to not advance the first version of the bill. After increased
negotiations, the Senate unanimously passed the bill with amendment on
March 25, and was passed by the House and signed into law by the President
on March 27. You can view our complete coverage of the bill [5]here.

HR 6201: Families First Coronavirus Response Act

On March 14, the House of Representatives passed the initial version of the
Families First Coronavirus Response Act, with a vote of 363-40. You can see
how your representatives voted [6]here.

Senate Vote on HR 6201: Families First

On March 18, the Senate passed the revised version of the Families First
Coronavirus Response Act, which included a variety of benefits for working
and unemployed Americans. President Trump signed the act into law the same
day. Read Vote Smart's synopsis and highlights [7]here.

Impact on the 2020 Election Cycle

One-On-One Debate

On March 15, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden faced
off in the eleventh Democratic Debate. Read the full transcript, which
includes their plans on how to fight COVID-19, [8]here.

Which Presidential Primaries Have Been Postponed?

So far Puerto Rico and eleven states -- Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia,
Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
and New York -- have all pushed back their presidential primary elections.
You can view the entire primary calendar [9]here to see when each
rescheduled date is.

Changes to Campaigning

To encourage social distancing, the Biden, Sanders, and Trump campaigns
have halted all in-person campaigning and have moved to the virtual world.
Sen. Sanders said in a March 8 [10]interview that his campaign was not
"going to endanger the health of anybody in this country," while former
Vice President Biden [11]said on March 15 that COVID-19 is "bigger than any
one of us." President Trump, [12]taking advice[13] from the CDC to
"postpone large gatherings," has not held a campaign rally since March 2nd.



Vote Smart, like other organizations, has made efforts to fight COVID-19 in
our community.

The only people that will be coming into the Vote Smart office for the
foreseeable future are National Director Walker McKusick and four others.
Our Research, Courage Test, and Development & Communications Directors,
along with our Office Manager & Internship Coordinator, will be in to
assist the 20 staff members and multiple interns who are working remotely
during this time.

To all Vote Smart supporters, from President Richard Kimball: "Stay safe,
this world cannot afford to lose you."

Thanks for following along with us, we'll be back with more updates soon.
Until then, keep up with the latest information at [14]VoteSmart.org

[15]Donate Now

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[18]Vote Smart is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides
accurate information about candidates, elected officials, and key pieces of
legislation. By providing information in an easy and accessible manner,
Vote Smart believes that citizens can better defend themselves from the
questionable rhetoric and misrepresentation that characterizes present-day
political campaigns.

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