Coronavirus government spending must be put on 'pause': Sen. Barrasso
Sen. Barrasso said 'not another dime' should be spent until the impact on national debt is transparent
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Sen. John Barrasso said Thursday it’s time to “push the pause button” on government spending, now that more than $2 trillion has been spent on coronavirus relief within the last month.
“As chairman of the conference, my position is it's time to push the pause button right now," Barrasso, R-Wyo., told FOX Business' Stuart Varney. “Before we spend another dime, we need to make sure that one, we are all back in session to debate this face to face. Number two, not another dime until we actually see the impact of the money that we're spending and also the impact of the debt on our national debt picture."
His comments come on the heels of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin telling FOX Business on Wednesday that the government will “spend what it takes” to win the war against the virus.
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Regarding health care, Barrasso said rural hospitals are searching for freedom to perform elective surgeries more than they are looking for extra funding.
A woman holds up a sign outside the Missouri Capitol to protest stay-at-home orders and urge the reopening of businesses closed in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
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“[Rural hospitals] are the lifeblood of so many communities," he said. "What we need to do is make sure they're allowed to get back into business, that they're able to do elective surgery. And that means cancer surgery that's been delayed, mammograms that have been delayed. A number of things that are important for people's own health as well as for the health of the hospital in the community.”
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Phase one of America’s reopening includes allowing rural hospitals to perform elective surgeries, according to Barrasso. He said that is the vital first step in getting the country back up and running is to reopen rural communities.