Walden issues statement of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) released a statement after he voted in support of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act:

“Congress has a responsibility to help people work through these challenging times. In meetings from one end of our district to the other, I’ve heard firsthand the need for those who are sick to stay home. Hospital officials and medical care providers have made it clear we need better access to more testing and care. Our local health care providers and first responders are on the front lines of this fight and we must ensure they have what they need. This bill takes steps to help our nation mitigate this crisis.  

"However, this bill is far from perfect. We need to boost the availability and supply of crucial respirators and the ability to improve our nation’s surge capacity of our health care workforce. 

“We must also do more to protect our medical product supply chain -- both for this pandemic and future ones.  For me, this is not a new concern, prior to the coronavirus outbreak, I’ve raised concerns about our country’s overreliance on foreign pharmaceutical manufacturing.  If a foreign country monopolizes production of key ingredients in the drug supply chain and wishes to retaliate against the U.S., they could cut supply and limit access to critical medications. This could put American lives at risk in a time of crisis.

“We all know there will be more work to do in the coming weeks.  Working together we can overcome this challenge.”

In addition to this legislation, Congress recently approved over $8 billion in funding to get more tests out into communities, reimburse local entities for the work they are doing, and to find a vaccine. The CDC has also awarded the state of Oregon nearly $7.8 million in funding to support the state’s response efforts.

Source: The Office of Greg Walden, Representative of Oregon.