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BIPARTISAN, BICAMERAL GROUP URGES LEADERSHIP TO CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD ON COVID-19 EMERGENCY RELIEF PACKAGE
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mark Warner (D-VA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Angus King (I-ME), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5) and Tom Reed (R-NY-23) urged Senate and House Leadership to continue moving forward to finalize a COVID-19 emergency relief package. Earlier this week, the Senators and the Problem Solvers Caucus shared two bills, one of which, the bipartisan COVID-19 Emergency Relief Act of 2020, is serving as the framework for the final COVID-19 relief package.
"This pandemic has been devastating for millions of Americans and without Congressional action they will lose the lifelines that are keeping them afloat. We appreciate the ongoing efforts of Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer and Leader McCarthy to craft an emergency COVID-19 relief package that will help the American people weather the next few months of this pandemic. We know first-hand how hard it can be to find common ground on some of these issues. We encourage the leaders and their staff to continue this important work. By working together, we can and we will deliver immediate assistance to the workers, the families, and the businesses that need it most."
MANCHIN: EXCLUSION OF WEST VIRGINIA VETERANS FROM INITIAL VA COVID-19 VACCINATION PLAN IS UNACCEPTABLE
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) called on the Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie to provide an explanation for the exclusion of many rural Veterans, including West Virginia Veterans, from the VA’s initial COVID-19 vaccine distribution and implementation plan. Last week, during a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Senator Manchin also asked the VA about the plans to assist rural areas with distributing the COVID-19 vaccine.
Senator Manchin said in part, "The distribution of the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is both safe and effective, is a decisive moment in the fight against this horrible virus. On December 15th, 2020 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released the VA COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan, outlining the order in which Veterans and VA employees would receive coronavirus vaccines as doses become available. As expected, the plan initially prioritizes frontline Healthcare Workers (HCWs) and the highest-risk Veterans. However, the plan does not outline when and how rural states like West Virginia will be incorporated into the prioritization… West Virginia is one of the most patriotic states in the country with a long history of answering the call to defend our nation. That unique service, however, also makes West Virginia Veterans especially vulnerable to the global pandemic we are now battling. The safety and well-being of every West Virginian must remain our top priority."
ICYMI: MANCHIN SPEAKS ON URGENT NEED FOR COVID-19 EMERGENCY RELIEF
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) spoke on the Senate floor about the urgent need for Congress to pass COVID-19 emergency relief to help Americans in need. Senator Manchin led a group of bipartisan Members who shared two bills earlier this week that are serving as the framework for the final COVID-19 relief package.
"The bipartisan, bicameral agreement we shared earlier this week is the product we produced with the so-called gang of eight, but it turned into a bigger gang than that because more and more people want to work in a bipartisan way in the Senate. And I have said it’s alive and well. We just have to exercise it more. I am hopeful that we can break the deadlock, but there’s so much more that has to be done and so much more need that will need to be done. We must come behind President-Elect Joe Biden and make sure that we do it and look at the base of the need of America, not the greed of America. The bipartisan group that has worked day and night and I can’t be more proud to be with a group that I consider to be true Americans that stepped up to the plate and got something done when we didn’t think it could be done. I want to thank my Republican colleagues and friends and Democratic colleagues who worked so hard and everybody is going to benefit. I think it can be a Merry Christmas. It can be a much happier Christmas for sure."
To view Senator Manchin’s full remarks, click here.
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