Schumer: We Should Have ‘Several’ Coronavirus Oversight Hearings a Day

During a speech on the Senate floor on Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) argued that there should be coronavirus oversight hearings in Congress “several” times a day and such hearings “should occur in every committee, every week.”

Schumer said, “We should be holding multiple, serious oversight hearings every week. Several of my colleagues on the other side, including the Republican leader, have said they want to see how the legislation we’ve already passed is working before doing anything else. At the same time, the Republican majority is slow-walking the hearing process. Finally, after a lot of Democratic pressure from myself and many others, the leader is sort of eking out week-by-week hearings. We’ve just heard we’ll hear from Powell and Mnuchin on the 19th. That will be almost two months after a bill that let $4 trillion of lending authority be released before there’s a hearing. Why didn’t we hold a hearing 3 weeks ago? 5 weeks ago? Last week? It’s just outrageous. … Now, tomorrow, in the HELP Committee, there will be a hearing conducted remotely with Dr. Fauci. This is the kind of hearing we need. Not once a week, but several a day. The American people need to hear from experts in a fair, open, and truthful setting.”

He added, “But it shouldn’t be this one committee hearing tomorrow. And it shouldn’t be Dr. Fauci alone testifying, or even with the two he’s testifying with. This is the routine oversight business of Congress and now — we’re now in a crisis. It should occur in every committee, every week. There should be testimony from administration officials ranging from Dr. Birx, to Secretary Mnuchin, to Secretary DeVos, and others.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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