Cedric Richmond, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, says the administration is still aiming to reopen schools by April.
CBS’ Margaret Brennan noted a new strain of COVID-19 led the U.K. to shut down schools.
She mentioned Dr. Anthony Fauci said opening U.S. schools “may not happen due to mitigating circumstances.”
Brennan asked Richmond if Biden is still planning to open schools by April.
“Well, yes, and the key to it is making sure that we pass the American Rescue Plan so that we provide the school systems and local municipalities the ability to open schools safely and we think that if we invest in the resources to make it safe, schools should reopen,” Richmond said.
Watch his remarks below:
OPENING SCHOOLS BY APRIL? Senior White House Adviser @Richmond46 tells @margbrennan that @POTUS Biden’s plan to open schools by April stands — but notes that’s dependent on passage of a #COVIDReliefPackage
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 31, 2021
"If we invest in the resources to make it safe, schools should reopen" pic.twitter.com/icIJtoGmYr
During a virtual conversation with a bipartisan group of around 30 governors in December, Biden urged them to reopen schools at the end of his first 100 days in office, as IJR previously reported.
“I’m going to ask — and I know it’s going to be controversial for some of you — but I’m going to ask that we’re going to be able to open schools at the end of a hundred days,” Biden said.
He acknowledged it will “take a lot of money, but we know how to do it.”
Biden continued, “If we have the money and the funding, we [can] do everything from ventilation to more teachers, smaller class sizes, a whole range of things.”
White House chief of staff Ron Klain weighed in on the issue during an interview with CNN on Tuesday, as IJR reported.
Host Erin Burnett mentioned the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said K-12 schools may be able to reopen safely.
She asked Klain why there are public schools closed in places where private schools are open.
“I’ll give you a word: money. That’s why the president of the United States sent a plan to Congress even before he took office to make the investments you need to make the schools safe,” Klain said.
He went on, “President Biden has sent a plan to Congress that will make sure that the majority of our schools can be reopened within 100 days. We need Congress to pass that plan. Sadly, it costs money.”
