Congresswoman Back On Her Feet After Bout of Coronavirus, Now Going After Trump Administration

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez says it took her two weeks to battle the coronavirus. Her symptoms began after returning from Washington at the end of March.

"The pain and aches and my muscles in my body, in my entire body, it was just unbearable. I decided to take my temperature and it showed 99.5,” said Rep. Nydia Velazquez.

She says the fever persisted and she lost her sense of taste and smell prompting her to call the doctor who diagnosed her over the phone with coronavirus.

"I didn't get a test because I knew that we didn't have enough and I didn't want to jump to the front of the line to go and get a test just because I'm an elected official. So I knew what to do and that was to self-quarantine. That's what I did,” said Rep. Velazquez.

She never had to go to the hospital, and now the Brooklyn Democrat is back on her feet. And helping to deliver supplies around her district with the nonprofit group Masks For America.

"They are doing what the federal government and the Trump administration is supposed to be doing, providing the resources and equipment to protect you,’ said Rep. Velazquez.

She also traveled back to Washington to vote on another round of funding to help victims of the coronavirus after the initial funding ran out. The 14-term Congresswoman, who heads the House Small Business Committee, is critical of the Trump administration for allowing large companies snatch up funding under the Paycheck Protection Program at the expense of small businesses.

"It's not enough to pour funding into a program if loans are not reaching the intended businesses,” said Rep. Velazquez. "The intent of the law was to help those mom and pop businesses, main street businesses."

She says the most recent legislation sets aside money for smaller financial institutions, including credit unions that have relationships in communities with the local businesses that desperately need help.

Meantime, Velazquez just got a coronavirus antibody test revealing she's a good candidate to help those who are fighting the disease. Velazquez says she's registering to donate her plasma so it can be used for an experimental antibody treatment.