Personal Freedom v. Public Health Police Power

Under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, the federal government has the power to regulate interstate and foreign commence, but the 10th Amendment and 200 years of case law give each individual state government the primary authority to control the spread of dangerous diseases within its jurisdiction, including the authority to make public health emergency decisions, such as setting quarantines and making business restrictions.

Here is what a state governor can do:

Read more

Coronavirus and Trump: Letter to the Editor

Letter to the editor written by PPDC board member Steve Cron
in response to Elle Feldman’s letter in the 3/26 issue of the Palisadian-Post

 

Dear Ms. Feldman,

I agree that we’re all facing an ominous enemy in the Coronavirus, and that we all need to stand together and find our common ground. If you had ended your letter to the editor after the first few paragraphs, I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you. But, you had to politicize your call for community action by praising Donald Trump’s leadership, and therefore, once again, I feel compelled to respond.

You say that Trump “is leading the charge.” If leading the charge means ignoring all scientific input from January until last week, then you’re right. Instead of heeding the call from public health officials for equipment and medical preparation at the early stages of this pandemic, Trump “led” us by doing nothing for two months, other than claiming that those who raised concerns about his cuts to emergency preparedness were perpetrating a hoax.

In early January, when real American leaders were calling for the federal government to produce new medical and safety equipment, Trump praised his

Read more

Rep. Lieu's statment on COVID-19 CARES Act

REP LIEU STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY RELIEF BILL

Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after the House passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act:

"We are living through truly challenging times. COVID-19 is a grave threat to our nation. The United States now has the most COVID-19 cases in the world...."

For more click here:

https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-lieu-statement-passage-coronavirus-emergency-relief-bill