Florida Gov. Rick Scott gestures as he appears with President Donald Trump during a rally Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, in Estero, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Whenever the country faces a national crisis, whether it be from natural disasters or pandemics like the swine flu, the first thing you usually hear at some point is some variation of “what’s the federal government going to do?”
While the feds do have a role to play in these situations, officials and leaders at the local and state level are better positioned to take the lead because they are literally on the front lines of developments as they happen, and they know the needs of their communities better than bureaucrats in D.C. do.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) was interviewed on Fox News Monday to share his thoughts on how Florida was handling the crisis, and also to respond to reports of supply shortages in some states.
Scott spoke about how local and state officials can act and work around the bureaucracy by fast tracking through local suppliers wherever possible. “The federal government,” Scott correctly pointed out, “cannot solve every problem”:
Scott, who said he is self-quarantining after coming in contact with an infected member of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s entourage earlier this month, told “The Story” that state governments and private institutions can and have taken the lead on many aspects of fighting the contagion.
“Health care is a locally-delivered system — so our local health care systems with our local county health departments and our local physicians groups — what can they produce that they don’t have?” said Scott, a former health care industry executive.
“At every level, local, state and federal, we’ve got to waive regulations to take care [of the population]. We are all in a crisis and we all have to do this together.
“The federal government cannot solve every problem and we’ve got to have our families, our churches, our mayors, our communities, we’ve got to get together on this and solve the problem,” Scott continued.
Watch:
These are points President Trump has repeatedly tried to make at the White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefings, but unfortunately the mainstream media have chosen to be dishonest about this approach, falsely claiming Trump has told states that they are own their own on combatting the Wuhan coronavirus.
During the same interview, Scott also said “we have to get this testing up this week.” He was referring to mobile testing sites, which he’s urging to be set up in every county in every state by Friday:
Sen. Rick Scott wants mobile coronavirus testing in every county by Friday. His announcement comes as a mobile testing site in West Palm says it can't take any more appointments for tests https://t.co/HaMGFNb8nw
— Alex Daugherty (@alextdaugherty) March 17, 2020
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