Pelosi Says Free Virus Testing, Treatment Could Be in Next Bill

House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 26, 2020. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that free testing for the CCP virus could be in the next bill that Congress takes up, in addition to treatment for those who test positive for the new illness from China.

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.

The Senate passed a package late Wednesday and includes billions for small business loans and a payout of $1,200 for many Americans.

Some of the components were inserted by Democrats but others are still on the table for future pieces of legislation, Pelosi told reporters in Washington.

“There are so many things we didn’t get in any of these bills yet in a way that we need to,” she said.

The pandemic forced Congress to quickly take action, including passing an initial bill that provided $8.3 billion for research and testing and another bill that provided money for masks and other items. The third bill is focused on mitigating the economic loss.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) leaves the Senate floor at the US Capitol in Washington on March 25, 2020. Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

Lawmakers will next turn to economic recovery, including creating jobs to help people recover from the situation, according to the Democratic House leader.

Pelosi also wants to better define who qualifies for family and medical leave, bolster Occupational Safety and Health Administration for workers, a 15 percent increase in food stamps, and more money sent to state and local governments, including treating the District of Columbia as a state in terms of the distribution of funds.

There’s also the matter of a proposal on pensions that Pelosi claimed is supported by Republican President Donald Trump but was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said the proposal could be in the next bill.

Democrats will also insist on free testing, according to Pelosi.

“We said free testing, free testing, free testing, but with free testing is the visit to the doctor’s office, the treatment that goes with it, and that has to be free as well,” she said.

Pelosi ripped Republicans, who she alleged made a version of the bill focused on corporations that was transformed by Democrats to a “bubble-up, worker-first, family-first legislation.” Later in the press conference, she called for working together “in the most bipartisan way possible to get the job done as soon as possible.”