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♪ >> WE HAD THE STRONGEST ECONOMY
IN THE WORLD.
WE HAD OUR BEST EVER.
WE HAD PROBABLY THE BEST ECONOMY
IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD,
BIGGER THAN CHINA, BIGGER THAN
ANYBODY.
ANYBODY. AND ONE DAY WE HAVE TO SAY CLOSE
IT UP, STOP.
EVERYBODY GO HOME.
AND, DO YOU KNOW WHAT?
IT’S PRETTY TOUGH TO DO THAT.
GRIFF: PRESIDENT TRUMP REACTING
TO THE IMPACT THE CORONAVIRUS IS
HAVING ON THE U.S. ECONOMY.
PETE: 7,001,000701,000 JOBS LOST
AS THE EFFORTS WILL IT BE ENOUGH
TO REBOUND.
TO REBOUND. JILLIAN: STEVE SCALIA JOINS US
NOW AND TALK TO THE AMERICAN
PUBLIC.
PUBLIC. WE APPRECIATE IT?
>> MY PLEASURE.
JILLIAN: WHAT’S YOUR MESSAGE TO
THE MANY OF AMERICANS STRUGGLING
OUT THERE RIGHT NOW AND DON’T
KNOW WHAT TO DO?
>> WELL, LET ME START WITH WHAT
THE PRESIDENT WAS SAYING IN THE
CLIP YOU JUST RAN.
WE DID PUT OUT JOB NUMBERS
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. AND ON THURSDAY.
WHICH WERE DISTRESSING.
HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT FILINGS.
JUST A MONTH AGO WE PUT OUT A
VERY STRONG REPORT, WHICH WAS
SIMILAR REPORTS WE HAVE BEEN
PUTTING OUT FOR A COUPLE OF
YEARS.
YEARS. AS THE PRESIDENT SAID, WE JUST
HAD A ROBUST BOOMING ECONOMY.
BUT WE HAVE HAD TO TAKE THESE
PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES.
SO THERE IS A SILVER LINING
THERE WHICH IS THAT WE START
FROM A VERY STRONG FOUNDATION.
WE HAVE POLICIES IN PLACE THAT
HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR OUR
ECONOMY.
ECONOMY. AND WHAT WE NEED NOW IS REALLY
TIGHT DISCIPLINE AND ADHERING TO
THE PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES SO WE
CAN BEAT THIS VIRUS AND GET BACK
TO WORK QUICKLY.
I THINK WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO
DO IT.
DO IT. PETE: MR. SECRETARY, WHAT’S YOUR
MESSAGE TO SMALL BUSINESSES?
THEY ARE REACHING OUT TO GET
THESE LOANS.
THESE LOANS. THERE HAS BEEN SOME CONFUSION.
THERE IS OPTIMISM THAT IT WILL
ULTIMATELY BE HELPFUL.
SOME OF THE BIGGER BANKS HAVE
BEEN SLOW.
BEEN SLOW. AND THEY ARE NOT YET ONLINE.
WHAT DO YOU -- SET EXPECTATIONS
FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE LOOKING FOR
HELP RIGHT NOW?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. ANOTHER SILVER LINING IN WHAT WE
ARE SEEING RIGHT NOW IS HOW
QUICKLY THE PRESIDENT AND THE
GOVERNMENT HAVE RESPONDED,
INCLUDING THIS VERY LARGE RELIEF
BILL THE PRESIDENT SIGNED A WEEK
AGO FRIDAY AND THAT DID INCLUDE
$350 BILLION IN RELIEF.
NOT JUST FOR SMALL BUSINESS, BUT
FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES.
ABOUT HALF OF OUR WORKERS IN
THIS COUNTRY WORK FOR SMALL
BUSINESSES.
BUSINESSES. THIS IS $350 BILLION THAT ARE
LOANS AVAILABLE TO SMALL
BUSINESSES TO TIDE THEM THROUGH
WHAT WE ARE DEALING WITH RIGHT
NOW AND TO KEEP THEIR EMPLOYEES
ON PAYROLL AND IF THEY KEEP THEM
ON PAYROLL, THESE LOANS ARE
LARGELY FORGIVEN.
LARGELY FORGIVEN. SO I THINK THAT’S A REALLY
VALUABLE LIFELINE.
VALUABLE LIFELINE. I BELIEVE ABOUT $3 BILLION IN
LOANS WERE PROCESSED YESTERDAY.
BANKS WERE COMING ONLINE AND
MAKING THEM AVAILABLE IN THE
COURSE OF THE DAY.
IT’S A PROMISING PROGRAM, AS
WELL AS THE OTHER RELIEF IN THAT
LEGISLATION, INCLUDING CASH
PAYMENTS TO TAXPAYERS.
GRIFF: MR. SECRETARY, LET ME ASK
YOU, MAY 8TH IS THE NEXT JOBS
REPORT COMING OUT.
THAT, OF COURSE, WE ANTICIPATE
WILL BE MUCH WORSE.
PERHAPS UNPRECEDENTED LIKELY AND
SEND US INTO EVEN DARKER TIMES.
HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT THAT
AND AS A RESULT, WILL WE NEED
ALMOST CERTAINLY ANOTHER
STIMULUS PACKAGE ON HAND AND
READY TO GO?
>> WELL, IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW
THAT THE REPORT WE PUT OUT
YESTERDAY, WHICH DID SHOW THOSE
700,000 IN JOB LOSSES, ACTUALLY
JUST COVERED THE FIRST PART OF
MARCH.
MARCH. WE STOPPED COLLECTING DATA AT
ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH.
AND AS YOU KNOW THE MIDDLE OF
THE MONTH IS WHEN A LOT OF THESE
STATEWIDE CLOSURES STARTED.
THE NEXT REPORT IN MAY, YEAH, IT
WILL PICK UP THE FIRST COUPLE
WEEKS OF APRIL, AS WELL AS THE
END OF MARCH.
AND WE WILL SEE HIGHER LOSSES.
THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN ANY
ECONOMIC DOWNTURN WE HAVE EVER
HAD IN AMERICAN HISTORY BECAUSE
IT’S PURPOSEFUL.
IT’S PURPOSEFUL. WE ARE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE TO
COMBAT THE VIRUS.
BUT IT’S ALSO TEMPORARY.
AND THAT’S GOOD NEWS.
IT’S PURPOSEFUL, IT’S TEMPORARY.
THE MORE DISCIPLINED WE ARE NOW,
THE QUICKER WE CAN SPRING BACK
AND GET THEME BACK TO WORK.
BUT WE KNOW THERE IS GOING TO BE
ANOTHER DIFFICULT JOB REPORT,
BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE KNOW A
LOT OF AMERICANS ARE STRUGGLING
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. JILLIAN: YOU MENTION IT BEING
TEMPORARY.
TEMPORARY. WE DON’T KNOW HOW LONG THIS IS
GOING TO GO ON.
WE DON’T KNOW AT WHAT POINT OUR
ECONOMY IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO
BOUNCE BACK AND PEOPLE ARE GOING
TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK TO THEIR
JOBS.
JOBS. I’M WONDERING HOW MUCH HOPE THAT
YOU HAVE THAT OUR ECONOMY WILL
BE ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK QUICKLY
ONCE THIS IS SAID AND DONE?
>> I DO HAVE HOPE IN THAT.
BECAUSE OF YOU WHO STRONG THE
ECONOMY WAS JUST WEEKS AGO.
BECAUSE WHAT WE’RE EXPERIENCING
WAS NOT AT THE OUTSET AN
ECONOMIC PROBLEM.
ECONOMIC PROBLEM. IT WAS A HEALTH EMERGENCY THAT
IS -- HAS REQUIRED THESE
EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES.
EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES. BUT THEY ARE, BY DESIGN,
TEMPORARY.
TEMPORARY. THEY HAVE TO BE SHORT-TERM,
REALLY, FOR OUR NATIONAL
WELL-BEING.
WELL-BEING. AND WE HAVE SEEN CONGRESS, THE
PRESIDENT, ACTING QUICKLY TO
PROVIDE RELIEF.
PROVIDE RELIEF. I EMPHASIZE AGAIN HOW IMPORTANT
IT IS TO BE DISCIPLINED ON THE
HEALTH MEASURES THAT ARE BEING
URGED AS WELL.
PETE: MR. SECRETARY, AS SOMEONE
WHO IS INVOLVED WITH THE TASK
FORCE, NOT FORMALLY BUT YOU ARE
AROUND IT.
AROUND IT. YOU ARE IN THESE DISCUSSIONS.
THE HEALTH SIDE DOMINATED THE
ECONOMIC PROSPECTS IN THE FUTURE
ARE REALLY GOING TO START TO HIT
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO FALL DOWN
WHEN IT COMES TO NATIONAL
GUIDELINES FOR HEALTH, THAT HAVE
IMPACT ON OUR ECONOMIC
ENVIRONMENT OR SHOULD STATES AND
LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES AS WE DRAW
OUT OF THIS START TO MAKE THEIR
OWN DECISIONS?
OWN DECISIONS? WHAT’S BEST FOR OUR ECONOMIC
HEALTH?
HEALTH? >> I THINK THAT IN THE
SHORT-TERM, OUR ECONOMIC HEALTH
DEPENDS ON TAKING THESE PUBLIC
HEALTH MEASURES VERY SERIOUSLY
WITH RESPECT TO THE VIRUS.
BUT I THINK WE ALL RECOGNIZE AT
THE SAME TIME WE CAN’T LOOK JUST
AT THE HEALTH SIDE.
WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR ECONOMIC
INFRASTRUCTURE.
INFRASTRUCTURE. WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR NATIONAL
DEFENSE FOR THAT MATTER, WHICH
DEPENDS, IN PART, ON OUR
ECONOMIC HEALTH.
ECONOMIC HEALTH. SO THE PRESIDENT, WE ALL KNOW,
IS LOOKING AT ALL SIDES OF THIS.
AND I THINK WE CAN BE CONFIDENT
HE WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO.
PETE: YOU HAVE A BIG JOB.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS