Pressley on school reopenings: Congress needs to lead in absence of the Trump administration

"We cannot move too quickly on this. The consequences are too great to consider. This is about the public health," the Democrat told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of The Union." "What needs to happen is Congress needs to continue to act as the conscience of this nation and to lead in the absence of this Trump administration to provide reoccurring payments and to mitigate the financial hardships and the burdens that families are feeling. To continue to address food insecurity. But we should not rush to reopen schools."

Pressley continued that teachers "have already proven themselves to be courageous and dedicated educators."

"We are now asking them to be caseworkers and in some instances martyrs. And that is unconscionable. Again, we need to pass the HEROES Act which is sitting on the desk of Mitch McConnell which makes massive federal investments to support the reopening of our schools when it is safe and this virus is under control."

This story is breaking and will be updated.