Earlier today President Trump met with executives from the U.S. tourism industry to discuss how their operation are impacted by the various COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

Participants included: Roger Dow, President & CEO, Travel Association; Chip Rogers, President & CEO, American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA); Jon Bortz, President and CEO, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust and AHLA Chairman; Elie Maalouf, President, The Americas, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG); Christopher Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton; Arne Sorenson, President & CEO, Marriott International; Richard Bates, EVP, Disney; Mark Hoplamazian, President & CEO, Hyatt Hotels Corporation; John Sprouls, Chief Administrative Officer, Universal Parks and Resorts; Patrick Pacious, President and CEO, Choice Hotels International; David Kong, CEO, Best Western Hotels and Resorts; Jim Murren, President & CEO, MGM  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. We have the tourism industry executives, the biggest anywhere in the world. These are the great ones, and they’re going to say a couple of little words pretty soon, I think. We’ll talk about their company quickly and the number of employees and what’s happened since the Chinese virus came about. And they’ll be discussing that.

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Let me say up front, there’s something very sketchy about the wordy explanations provided by National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.  Listen/watch or read what he says below.

Encapsulating Dr. Fauci’s position:  Data on the coronavirus assembled today doesn’t reflect what is actually taking place today, but rather reflects where we were several days ago…. OK, that part makes sense (there’s a lag).

He then goes on to say what is actually happening today will not be included in data until we arrive at a place a few days from now when today’s reality is quantified.  Again, that reasonably makes sense…  However….

The media is/are reporting on coronavirus impacts in real time.  There is no delay in what the media are reporting from various places around the nation.  The media reporting reflects what is taking place today; right now… and what the media is reporting today is not worse than the data Fauci is explaining.

Meaning if Dr. Fauci was correct, and if the coronavirus data (the reports of spread) was behind by several days from the reality of today; then what the media would be reporting (the on the ground reality of the spread today) would be significantly worse (higher incidents) than Fauci’s data, which he claims is lagging several days behind….

The problem with that supposition – The media ground reports do not reflect a higher incidence of coronavirus spread than Fauci’s data today.

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National Economic Council (NEC) Director Larry Kudlow held an impromptu press conference to describe what sectors of the U.S. economy may need direct financial assistance to bridge revenue gaps from mandated government policy. The stock market is not the U.S. economy.

Calling this type of financial assistance a “bailout” is not a fair term considering the financial impact was created by government instruction.  Government orders to shut down restaurants creates a financial loss for restaurants who also have bills and payroll obligations to meet.  These types of affected businesses will need immediate assistance.

Airlines, hotels, resorts, private parks, gyms, restaurants and various entertainment companies/industries may also need a direct infusion of cash or deferred tax payment to compensate for financial losses.  Again, these businesses have been impacted by government ordering their closure. Depending on the size of the business, the need for gap funds may be urgent.

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White House trade advisor Peter Navarro appears on CNBC to discuss the White House’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, and the administration’s plan to help stimulate the economy.

Navarro gives examples of the public-private partnership working together with logistics of getting critical supplies distributed; also Navarro discusses the importance of timely and targeted stimulus measures.   Additionally, Navarro outlines the construct of a likely executive order to shift medical supply manufacturing back to the U.S.

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White House trade and manufacturing advisor Peter Navarro discusses the administration effort, a possible executive order, to shift U.S. dependency for critical health sector and pharmaceutical products back to domestic production.  [Important Discussion]

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Canada completes the North American cycle with their ratification of the USMCA to replace NAFTA. Mexico and the U.S. ratified the new trade agreement last year and January respectively.  The Canadian parliament did so yesterday.

CANADA – Canada on Friday formally approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), taking the last legislative step to implementation of the deal to replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The trade deal, ratified by the Mexican legislature last June and by Congress in January, was formally ratified by the Canadian Senate Friday, and shortly thereafter received royal assent, the Canadian governor general’s approval.

The deal was passed through the legislature before Parliament shut down for five weeks in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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At approximately 1:00am this morning the House of Representatives passed the Coronavirus Response Act [H.R.6201]  (House Link Here)

The final text of the bill is also embedded below.

The Bill passed: 363-Yay/40-Nay with 26-Not Voting [Vote Tally Here]

[scribd id=451664181 key=key-TpgzK792x3tz3D3azeRw mode=scroll]

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Additionally, President Trump exercised statutory authorities to declare a national emergency in response to the coronavirus.  The unprecedented action invites States, territories, and tribes to access over $42 billion in existing funding to combat the coronavirus.

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After an evening meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, President Trump has announced his support for House Resolution 6201 – The Cononavirus Response Act.

You can find the text of the House Bill HERE

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It took some digging but we found it. The 2020 Coronavirus Response Act is H.R.6201 [SEE HERE].

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is saying the Democrats and White House have made an agreement to pass the content of the Coronavirus Response Act.  However, there is no confirmation from the White House (yet).

President Trump is meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in the White House right now.

WASHINGTON – House Democrats and the Trump administration reached agreement on a coronavirus response package Friday after a day of grueling negotiations, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

“We are proud to have reached an agreement with the Administration to resolve outstanding challenges, and now will soon pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” she wrote to Democrats after hours of back-and-forth with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

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The White House has announced that magnanimous big tech firm Google has ‘voluntarily’ joined the federal government (within the national state of emergency) to assist citizens with the effort to voluntarily ‘test’ for the coronavirus.

As announced the details are under rapid construction, but don’t worry during a crisis there’s no need for prudent pause.  Trust is a currency.

President Trump noted today that over 1,700 data collection engineers from ‘big tech’ Google have been assigned by tech executives to create the system.

Google is undertaking this effort as a ‘free service’ to the American public. Everything is free, including the test.

Soon you will be able to use your hand-held transponder to sign-up, register for testing, and find your local neighborhood testing (dna collection) site.

Also noted, in a partnership with big corporate multinationals like Wal-Mart, CVS and Walgreens, citizens will be able to drive up to their local parking lot and have coronavirus ‘testing’ done without ever leaving your vehicle.  There will likely be instructions to bring your transponder (phone) with you to facilitate a faster ‘check-out’ process.

As soon as the other big tech and social media companies recognize the proactive nature of the system it’s likely Apple, Facebook, Twitter and all social media platforms will create links to the Google HHS data-hub to assist with citizen registration and fulfillment.  Lots of that pesky red-tape eliminated under the necessary framework of a national emergency.

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