Panic is gripping the country right now. I can't explain it, but everyone seems to think they need to stockpile toilet paper to combat a respiratory virus...

We have seen fights break out in grocery stores. Police are even being stationed as some stores to enforce rationing rules.

Members of Congress are supposed to be the ones to calm our fears. They are supposed to look at the situation and take steps to protect the American people.

Enter Squad Member Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). She has a new policy proposal to bring calm to the country: start releasing criminals from jails and prisons.

“This pandemic, COVID-19, has certainly exasperated every has crossed every socio, ratio and political fault line in our country and I'm just advocating to make sure that when we’re talking about our most vulnerable – our low-income residents and citizens, those experiencing homelessness, our seniors – that we are also including the incarcerated men and women, who are certainly amongst one of the most vulnerable populations and given the crowding and overpopulating in our prisons for a confluence of other reasons ... are an ecosystem in a petri dish for the spreading of this pandemic, which is why I partnered with my colleagues, Reps. Velasquez, Ocasio-Cortez and Talib, to lobby the bureau of prisons to use the full power and to communicate guidance for how we will contain and mitigate this epidemic behind the wall," she explained.

"Again, given the overpopulating and the fact that many of these facilities are already subpar and that many incarcerated men and women do not have access to soap, to alcohol-based hand sanitizers, to regular showers, what is the guidance, both for those incarcerated and for staff? And that the B.O.P. use their full powers, I think now would be the time, to commute some sentences, to exact clemency and to take care of our most vulnerable. Ten percent of those incarcerated are over the age of 60 and already have an underlying condition. We should be using compassionate release."

You know what would make people stop panicking? Make sure that instead of fighting their neighbor for the last bottle of hand sanitizer on the shelf, they will have to wrestle a newly released prisoner for it...

That's what America really needs...