Walden, Wyden, Merkley COVID-19 news releases, Monday April 20
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Each of Oregon's lawmakers is issuing numerous news releases related to the COVID-19 pandemic each day. Here are Monday's from Rep. Greg Walden and Senators on Wyden and Jeff Merkley.
Greg Walden Shares What You Need to Know on COVID-19 - April 20
Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) released an update on COVID-19 for April 20, 2020.
The latest on the coronavirus:
Update for Veterans on How to Get Economic Impact Payment
Most Americans have begun to see their payment of $1,200 per individual, $2,400 per couple, and $500 per child arrive directly to their bank account via direct deposit thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The IRS announced a change for veterans who receive disability compensation, a pension, or survivor benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs - these veterans DO NOT need to do anything to receive their payment.
Those on Social Security who do not file taxes also DO NOT need to file anything to receive this new payment.
Low income individuals with a gross income between $12,200 for individuals and $24,400 for married couples that do not file taxes, WILL need to submit information to the IRS to receive this payment. You can provide this information through the IRS’s website here.
For additional information about the economic impact payment you can visit the IRS website here.
Assistance for Farmers:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), an immediate relief program that provides $19 billion in support to farmers and ranchers, maintains the integrity of our food supply chain, and ensures access to food for those in need. This includes $16 billion in direct support to farmers and ranchers based on actual losses for agricultural producers. Read more here.
Walden Selected to White House Task Force
Last week, President Trump selected Greg Walden to join the White House Economic Task Force. The bipartisan, bicameral task force will advise the White House on reopening the economy. Read more here.
Funds Run Dry for PPP and EIDL:
Last week, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program ran out of money. The week before, President Trump called on Congress to prevent these funds from running dry, but Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer stopped that effort in its tracks. Read more here.
Nationwide, the PPP approved forgivable loans to more than 1.6 million small businesses and processed nearly $350 billion in only 14 days.
In Oregon, the PPP approved over 18,700 forgivable loans and processed over $3.8 billion in only 14 days.
FEMA Project Airbridge:
FEMA has launched Project Airbridge to help efficiently maintain the country’s existing medical supply chain infrastructure. The goal is to reduce the amount of time it takes for U.S. medical supply distributors to get commercially sourced and procured Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other critical supplies into the country for their customers. FEMA is covering the cost to fly the supplies into the U.S. from overseas factories, which will cut the amount of time it takes to ship supplies from weeks to days.
As of April 18, Project Airbridge has completed 64 flights with an additional 50 scheduled for a total of approximately 114 flights.
NIH Begins New Study:
NIH has begun recruiting for a new study to quantify undetected cases of COVID-19. In this “serosurvey,” researchers will collect and analyze blood samples from as many as 10,000 volunteers to provide critical data for epidemiological models, helping to illuminate the extent to which the virus has spread undetected in the United States. People interested in joining this study should contact clinicalstudiesunit@nih.gov.
Clinical trial information is here.
Watch out for COVID-19 Scams:
Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission are reporting a spike in coronavirus related scams including home testing kits, fake cures, and other malicious attempts to prey on COVID-19 fears. The Treasury Department will NOT ask you to pay anything for the payment most Americans will receive as a result of the CARES Act and will not contact you for your bank account information. If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the government asking for this type of information, please report it to www.ftc.gov/complaint. You can learn more about how to protect yourself from these types of scams here.
Resources to Know and Share: Here are some helpful resources and information on COVID-19.
Individual Payments:
The IRS launched the “Get My Payment” web portal with features to let taxpayers check on their Economic Impact Payment date and update direct deposition information. Click here to check on the status of your payment.
Helpful Resources on PPE:
CDC updated the PPE Burn Rate Calculator, a spreadsheet-based model that will help health care facilities plan and optimize the use of PPE for response to COVID-19. More here.
You can now see PPE shipments to Oregon counties here.
ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
The Paycheck Protection Program prioritizes millions of Americans employed by small businesses by authorizing up to $349 billion toward job retention and certain other expenses.
Small businesses and eligible nonprofit organizations, Veterans organizations, and Tribal businesses described in the Small Business Act, as well as individuals who are self-employed or are independent contractors, are eligible if they also meet program size standards.
For a top-line overview of the program CLICK HERE
If you’re a lender, more information can be found HERE
If you’re a borrower, more information can be found HERE
The application for borrowers can be found HERE
Other resources on the Paycheck Protection Program:
- Coronavirus.gov Small Business Resources Page
- Treasury Department Overview On The Paycheck Protection Program
- SBA.gov/Coronavirus Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources Page
INFORMATION FOR AMERICANS ABROAD:
The State Department has repatriated over 50,000 Americans from more than 90 countries.
The State Department is making efforts to bring home Americans, including through commercial flights, chartered flights, and military transport. Any American abroad who needs assistance should contact their local U.S. embassy and register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), available here or by calling 1-888-407-4747.
If you decide to travel abroad or are already outside the United States:
- Consider returning to your country of residence immediately using whatever commercial means are available.
- Have a travel plan that does not rely on the U.S. Government for assistance.
- Review and follow the CDC’s guidelines for the prevention of coronavirus.
- Check with your airline, cruise lines, or travel operators regarding any updated information about your travel plans and/or restrictions.
- Visit travel.state.gov to view individual Travel Advisories for the most urgent threats to safety and security.
- Visit Embassy webpages on COVID-19 for information on conditions in each country or jurisdiction.
- Visit the Department of Homeland Security’s website on the latest travel restrictions to the United States
ASSISTANCE FROM HHS AND FEMA:
HHS and FEMA have fielded many requests to assist or partner with the Federal Government in response to the COVID pandemic.
- Organizations or individuals seeking to contract with the federal government to import or manufacture medical products to aid the U.S. response submit information to FEMA through a Request for Proposal, available here.
- Organizations or individuals that wish to donate medical supplies or equipment can submit that information here.
- Other inquiries from organizations or individuals, including individuals who want to volunteer or organizations that want to produce a product related to the COVID response, among other inquiries, can be referred to https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus/how-to-help.
How to schedule a blood donation appointment:
- Visit RedCrossBlood.org. Click on “Schedule an Appointment” under the “Donate Blood” tab. From there you can enter your zip code to find a blood drive near you.
- Red Cross Blood Donor App
- Call 1-800-RED-CROSS
- Use Amazon Alexa Blood Scheduling Skill
Greg Walden Statement on Expanding COVID-19 Testing Capacity
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On Friday, Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) raised questions about ongoing efforts to expand COVID-19 testing capacity across the country.
During a teleconference with officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Walden emphasized the importance of President Trump’s plan to give states a science-based set of criteria for deciding when and where to start bringing the U.S. economy back online.
After Walden received assurances from HHS that testing expansion continues to be a priority, he released the following statement:
“Medical experts, including Drs. Fauci and Birx, have said that we must dramatically increase our testing capacity in order to provide sound data to track COVID-19, identify and treat patients, and to inform policymakers as they take steps to safely reopen our economy. Clearly, our testing capacity, resources, and supplies have lagged behind that need. Congress has provided unprecedented levels of funding and our nation’s health professionals are racing to close the gap. I’m confident that we will. In the meantime, we need to be smart with what we have, continually reevaluate testing strategies and guidelines to have optimal impact, and support the private sector as they innovate and adapt to help us meet this challenge,” said Walden.
MERKLEY, BROWN, COLLEAGUES DEMAND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLAN TO BOOST CONTACT TRACING, TESTING EFFORTS
Health experts continue to emphasize importance of method to reopening society, as administration stalls
Monday, April 20, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) are leading nine of their Senate colleagues in pushing the Trump administration to immediately craft, release, and implement a plan that includes robust testing for the coronavirus and expanded contact tracing.
Contract tracing is a decades-old process used to limit the transmission of infectious diseases by identifying and contacting individuals who recently interacted with infected people, and monitoring those individuals to evaluate the spread of disease. Health experts have repeatedly identified COVID-19 contact tracing—along with the testing capacity to make it possible at large scale—as essential to creating safe plans to reopen society. Otherwise, any plan to ease off of social distancing restrictions risks creating second and third waves of the virus that could be just as deadly as the current crisis, or worse.
“Governors across the country have issued strict statewide social distancing policies, which appear to be playing an important role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in some areas. These policies are critically important to public health, but also incredibly disruptive to our economy and way of life,” the senators wrote. “In order to begin to ease these stay-at-home measures for people without symptoms or recent exposure to a confirmed COVID-19 case, we must radically expand testing and our public health system must be prepared to dramatically scale up contact tracing efforts. In the current landscape of the pandemic, recommending the relaxation of social distancing policies without, at a minimum, a comprehensive testing and tracing plan—based in science—would risk further spreading the virus, jeopardizing the lives of millions of Americans.
“Currently, the nation lacks an extensive testing and tracing infrastructure. According to the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, there are only 2,200 contact tracers across the United States as of April 10, 2020. A sweeping nationwide effort to implement contact tracing would necessitate hundreds of thousands of additional tracers,” the senators continued. “Before our nation can responsibly reopen, the federal government must swiftly support state and local health authorities to recruit, hire, and train a tracing workforce.”
To help ensure that adequate levels of contact tracing be undertaken, the senators requested the following information be provided by April 30:
- A detailed summary of resources needed to design and execute nationwide testing and contact tracing.
- A comprehensive explanation of HHS’s strategy and efforts to support states and localities in recruiting, hiring, and training a sufficient number of qualified contact tracers across the country, including efforts to recruit tracers with diverse language capabilities, as well as strategies to accommodate seniors and Americans with disabilities.
- A thorough outline of HHS’s plan to protect and secure the private data of Americans during all contact tracing efforts.
Additionally, the senators emphasized that the government must take steps to safeguard Americans’ privacy and ensure that location data is not used inappropriately by technology companies assisting in the use of Bluetooth technology to trace individuals’ potential exposure to the virus.
Merkley and Brown were joined in sending the letter by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).
The full text of the letter is available here and follows below.
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Dear Vice President Pence, Secretary Azar, and Director Redfield:
We write to urge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and publicly release a nationwide plan on widespread testing for COVID-19 and contact tracing that will allow communities to move toward resuming social practices and reopening the economy. In addition to addressing the immediate health needs of our nation, HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must take a leadership role in planning public health approaches to identify and mitigate further the spread of the virus. Any forthcoming plan to reopen communities and businesses must be deliberate and data-driven.
On April 9, 2020, the CDC Director Robert Redfield told NPR that the CDC has been crafting a plan to scale back social distancing policies that includes increased testing and “very aggressive” contact tracing for people who test positive for COVID-19. Additionally, Director Redfield said nationwide contact tracing efforts would require a substantial scale-up of personnel. We request detailed information on the CDC’s strategy to prepare for and carry out increased nationwide contact tracing.
Contact tracing has been used for decades to limit the transmission of infectious diseases. It is the process of identifying and contacting individuals who recently interacted with infected people, and monitoring those individuals to identify potential for continued spread of disease. Those steps are repeated again for all contacts of the origin case that also test positive for the illness.
Governors across the country have issued strict statewide social distancing policies, which appear to be playing an important role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in some areas. These policies are critically important to public health, but also incredibly disruptive to our economy and way of life. In order to begin to ease these stay-at-home measures for people without symptoms or recent exposure to a confirmed COVID-19 case, we must radically expand testing and our public health system must be prepared to dramatically scale up contact tracing efforts. In the current landscape of the pandemic, recommending the relaxation of social distancing policies without, at a minimum, a comprehensive testing and tracing plan—based in science—would risk further spreading the virus, jeopardizing the lives of millions of Americans.
Currently, the nation lacks an extensive testing and tracing infrastructure. According to the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, there are only 2,200 contact tracers across the United States as of April 10, 2020. A sweeping nationwide effort to implement contact tracing would necessitate hundreds of thousands of additional tracers. Before our nation can responsibly reopen, the federal government must swiftly support state and local health authorities to recruit, hire, and train a tracing workforce.
Additionally, while contact tracing is a reliable method of reducing the spread of the virus, we are concerned about your agency’s efforts to safeguard Americans’ privacy rights. Google and Apple, for example, have collaborated to enable Bluetooth technology to assist governments and health care agencies in their response to the pandemic. While we appreciate the private sector’s partnership and shared goal to keep Americans healthy, we want to ensure the use of personal data is used in a manner that protects and respects the privacy of our citizens.
We ask HHS to craft, release, and implement a plan that includes robust testing for the virus and expanded contact tracing immediately. We also request the following information from HHS about any current or forthcoming COVID-19 relief strategy that includes testing and contact tracing:
- A detailed summary of resources needed to design and execute nationwide testing and contact tracing.
- A comprehensive explanation of HHS’s strategy and efforts to support states and localities in recruiting, hiring, and training a sufficient number of qualified contact tracers across the country, including efforts to recruit tracers with diverse language capabilities, as well as strategies to accommodate seniors and Americans with disabilities.
- A thorough outline of HHS’s plan to protect and secure the private data of Americans during all contact tracing efforts.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. To provide clarity on any plans HHS has or is crafting to bolster testing and contact tracing, we ask for a response by Thursday, April 30, 2020.
Sincerely,
WYDEN, MERKLEY URGE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO PROTECT FOOD SUPPLY, ESSENTIAL WORKERS DURING COVID-19 CRISIS
Monday, April 20, 2020
Washington, DC – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the Trump Administration to take action that would help ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply and protect essential workers in the food supply chain.
“It is vital that we do everything we can to protect food supply workers,” Wyden and Merkley wrote in a letter along withmore than 30 Senate colleagues. “Breakdowns in the food supply chain could have significant economic impacts for both consumers and agricultural producers. It is also imperative that precautions are taken to ensure the stability and safety of our food supply.”
There have been numerous reports of essential workers in meatpacking plants, processing facilities, farms, grocery stores, and markets falling ill from COVID-19. Some workers have reportedly felt pressured to go to work even when feeling sick. There are also serious concerns about the health of farmworkers who often work, live, and travel in close proximity, making social distancing very difficult.
“The severe shortages of adequate COVID-19 testing capability and personal protective equipment are exacerbating these problems,” the senators wrote. “Lack of access to tests and personal protective equipment leaves essential food supply workers at even higher risk and makes the virus more likely to spread, harming more workers and further damaging our food supply chain.”
The senators urged the White House and federal agencies to coordinate with state and local governments and the private sector to take aggressive action to protect essential workers and the food supply from further damage. The senators also asked a series of questions about the actions being taken and the need for coordination with the food industry.
In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the letter led by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), also was signed by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Robert Casey (D-Penn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.).
The full text of the letter to Vice President Pence, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Food and Drug Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf is here.
MERKLEY, WYDEN, COLLEAGUES ADVOCATE FOR DEDICATED AND FLEXIBLE EMERGENCY FUNDING FOR TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Monday, April 20, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with 31 of their colleagues, are advocating for state, local, and tribal governments to receive dedicated, flexible funding in the next COVID-19 emergency funding package.
Their letter comes amid uncertainty among tribal, state, and local government officials in Oregon—and across America—regarding their financial stability as they work to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
“On behalf of our state, local, and tribal governments, it is essential that you include robust, dedicated, and flexible funding to all units of state and local government in the next interim emergency coronavirus package to support their ongoing efforts in the fight against this pandemic,” the senators wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. “Not only are these public servants on the front line of the immediate response effort, they are also major employers navigating unprecedented declines in revenue just as the need for their services hits an all-time high. We can and we must work together to get this essential funding to our local partners as quickly as possible.
“We stand with our country’s governors, mayors, county officials, and tribal leaders in asking you to put politics aside and support our local partners. They cannot afford to wait any longer,” the senators continued.
Merkley and Wyden were joined in the letter by U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Doug Jones (D-AL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Edward Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
The letter is available here and follows below.
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Dear Leader McConnell and Secretary Mnuchin:
On behalf of our state, local, and tribal governments, it is essential that you include robust, dedicated, and flexible funding to all units of state and local government in the next interim emergency coronavirus package to support their ongoing efforts in the fight against this pandemic. Not only are these public servants on the front line of the immediate response effort, they are also major employers navigating unprecedented declines in revenue just as the need for their services hits an all-time high. We can and we must work together to get this essential funding to our local partners as quickly as possible.
While the Coronavirus Relief Fund authorized in the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) was an important first step, there is no guarantee that any of that funding will reach the millions of Americans who live in communities with fewer than 500,000 residents. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has made it clear that no unit of local government representing fewer than 500,000 residents is eligible to apply for direct funding. The next interim emergency coronavirus package must include dedicated funding for the cities, counties, tribes, and other local governments that serve these communities.
The intent of the legislative language authorizing the Coronavirus Relief Fund was to provide flexible funding to state and local jurisdictions as they respond to an unfolding national health and economic crisis. Flexibility is critical as federal response guidelines change almost daily. Our local partners have to constantly adjust and adapt to maintain a consistent response while grappling with dramatically reduced state and local revenues that are the direct result of COVID-19’s effects on our economy. While we remain hopeful that the U.S. Department of the Treasury will issue implementation guidance for the Coronavirus Relief Fund that is consistent with the aforementioned Congressional intent, we also know that our state, local, and tribal partners need certainty now that they can use all current and future federal funds to cover reductions in revenues resulting from the public health emergency and faltering COVID-19 economy.
Our local partners, unlike the federal government, have a legal requirement to balance their budget. They do not have the luxury of carrying debt over year after year. We stand with our country’s governors, mayors, county officials, and tribal leaders in asking you to put politics aside and support our local partners. They cannot afford to wait any longer.
IN MIDST OF COVID-19 CRISIS, WYDEN, CRAPO, MERKLEY, RISCH, COLLEAGUES CALL FOR FINANCIAL SECURITY FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES
Monday, April 20, 2020
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and James Risch, R-Idaho, today led a bipartisan group of 22 other senators on a letter calling for the Senate to finally provide much-needed financial certainty during the COVID-19 crisis for rural communities to ensure long-term funding needed for essential services.
In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the senators pushed for, “a long-term solution for the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS) and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) programs at the next possible opportunity.”
“The stop and start authorizations and payments under SRS and PILT have wreaked havoc on rural America for decades, and now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the budgets of these rural counties are decimated. These two programs fund roads, schools, law enforcement, and essential county services, such as public health programs,” the senators wrote. “With inadequate funding and now additional demands on their resources, rural communities and counties are at the breaking point.”
The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS)—originally co-authored by Wyden and Crapo—was enacted in 2000 to financially assist counties with public, tax-exempt forestlands. Wyden, Crapo, Merkley and Risch have worked to give SRS a more permanent role in assisting rural counties with large tracts of federal lands. Most recently, in May 2019 they reintroduced their bill to make the SRS program permanent by creating an endowment fund to provide stable, increasing and reliable funding for county services. In November 2019, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee also held a legislative hearing on PILT and SRS, and received testimony on legislation that would permanently extend SRS and build on the historic link between timber receipts and county payments.
Joining Wyden, Crapo, Merkley and Risch on this letter were U.S. Sens. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colo., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Tom Udall, D-N.M., Martha McSally, R-Ariz., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Boozman, R-Ark., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Dan Sullivan, R-Ark., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif., Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Patty Murray, D-Wash.
A copy of the letter is available here.
