Carper, Coons join Stabenow, Senate Democrats to urge Trump Administration to protect food supply, essential workers during COVID-19 crisis

WILMINGTON, Del. — U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) joined Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and 34 Senate Democrats, to urge Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the Trump Administration to take action to 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,” wrote the senators. “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,” wrote the senators. “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 coordination with the food industry.

In addition to Senators Carper, Coons, and Stabenow, the letter was signed by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), 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 letter was sent 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.

The full text of the letter is below. A PDF of the letter is available here.

Dear Vice President Pence, Secretary Perdue, Commissioner Hahn, Administrator Wheeler, Acting Secretary Wolf: 

We write today to inquire about the actions you are taking to ensure the safety of our nation’s food supply and protect our essential federal and private sector food supply chain workforce. There have been numerous reports of essential workers in meatpacking plants, processing facilities, farms, grocery stores, and markets falling ill from COVID-19. Other sources have reported that employee absences are high as people fear going into work due to the threat of infection. Some workers have reportedly felt pressured to work even when feeling sick. There are also serious concerns about the health of farmworkers who plant and harvest our crops and 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. 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. Beyond the risk of infection, the lack of personal protective equipment is also harmful to farmworkers who apply pesticides and lack basic protections.

It is vital that we do everything we can to protect food supply workers and federal employees from COVID-19 infection. 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. 

During this public health crisis, the White House and your agencies must coordinate with state and local governments and the private sector to take aggressive action to protect essential workers in the food supply chain. We need bold action and creative solutions, including greatly increased testing and tracing of those exposed to the virus in order to stop the spread. This is critically important to protect our essential workforce, our food supply chain, our agricultural economy, and rural America from further damage. We ask you to respond to the following questions by April 24, 2020:

1.     What are your plans for and what actions have you taken to help ensure the safety of essential food supply chain workers?  In the event that essential food supply chain workers, including all farmworkers, contract COVID-19, what are the preparedness and response plans and actions to control the outbreak, ensure treatment of workers, and ensure that our food supply is maintained? 

2.     USDA’s coronavirus website instructs the food industry to follow protocols set by local and state health departments for guidance about its business operations.

a.     How are your agencies coordinating with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure that employers know what is necessary to protect their essential food supply chain workers from COVID-19?

b.     A clear safety and health standard applicable to this novel virus would ensure employers understand what is necessary to keep essential food supply chain workers healthy so they can continue to work to keep the food chain strong. Have your agencies asked Secretary Scalia to use his existing authorities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to ensure employers of essential food supply chain workers institute necessary safety and health accommodations to deal with this virus? If not, why not?

c.     What are your agencies doing to create consistency regarding  recommendations from federal agencies that address issues related to monitoring of symptoms, sanitation practices, social distancing, personal protective equipment standards, and communication requirements? 

3.     Has the federal government worked with states or the food industry to develop contingency plans or guidance on how to adjust supply chains or move workforce capacity to other areas to address any personnel shortages?

4.     What concerns and unmet needs have you heard from the food supply industry regarding protection of these essential workers?  What are you doing to address shortages of personal protective equipment for private sector essential food supply chain workers?  

5.     What actions have you taken to make COVID-19 testing readily available to essential food supply chain workers?  

6.     Have you taken any actions to work with state and local governments and industry partners to find alternative housing options for essential food supply chain workers who have been infected by or exposed to COVID-19 to help stop it from spreading to others?   

7.     Protecting the health and safety of USDA inspectors from COVID-19 is critically important. 

a.     How many USDA inspectors have been infected by COVID-19? 

b.     Have infections of inspectors caused any slowing in or reduction of inspections or production? 

c.     Has USDA appropriately notified its personnel of the new COVID paid sick and family leave polices recently enacted by Congress? 

d.     USDA briefed congressional staff and said it has been unable to supply masks for all of its food inspectors and has instead offered to reimburse its employees for making or purchasing their own masks. What is USDA doing to supply all FSIS inspectors, APHIS inspectors, and AMS essential personnel with appropriate personal protective equipment and what is the timeframe when USDA will be able to provide this equipment?

We thank you for your immediate attention to these questions.

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons: Americans shouldn’t have to ‘choose between exercising their sacred right to vote and keeping themselves and their families safe from this virus’

WILMINGTON, Del. — Sunday evening, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined Kasie Hunt on MSNBC to discuss Congress’ continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted his efforts to expand vote-by-mail and secure upcoming elections.

“Senators Klobuchar and Wyden and I have been advancing both a bill and funding to allow states to begin planning responsibly now for how they’re going to carry out their delayed primaries and how they’re going to carry out the November election,” Senator Coons said. “We shouldn’t put the average American, and, in particular, seniors or those who are immunocompromised in a position of having to choose between exercising their sacred right to vote and keeping themselves and their families safe from this virus.” 

On measures to secure vote-by-mail, Senator Coons said, “A number of states have developed thorough security measures to make sure that they can track every single ballot and they can confirm that the person casting that ballot is, in fact, the registered voter by signature match and by other measures. We ought to be able to do this, to vote securely, if necessary, by mail if there is an ongoing pandemic problem with us in the fall.”

Full audio and video available here. A transcript is provided below.

Q: Joining me now, Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. Senator, it’s always great to have you on the program. Let’s start where we just left off in our conversation with the panel and the congressman from the other side of the Capitol. Fill us in on how we got here. Do you feel good about the deal that seems to be coming together to put more money into this small business fund, to help small businesses in this difficult time as well as to help hospitals but leave that state aid for later? What’s your sense of where things stand, and are you supportive of this? 

Sen. Coons: Kasie, I am very optimistic that the deal that has been put together this weekend is something that all of us can support. It’s got roughly the same architecture as the bill that we passed unanimously several weeks ago: aid for small business, aid for hospitals, support for lots of the critical parts of our economy and our public health system that need more resources. One of the big problems with the Small Business Administration’s PPP, or Paycheck Protection Program, that was in the C.A.R.E.S. Act, was that there was no guarantee that funding was available for the smallest businesses and nonprofits. Many of them struggled to connect with a bank that was able and willing to lend to them. I am happy that some of the provisions of this bill I’m told will include provisions to encourage community banks and credit unions and so-called CDFIs, or Community Development Finance Institutions to make sure that a broader range of businesses, not just the larger of the small businesses, but some of the very smallest are going to be able to get help. I really wish we had replacement for lost revenue for states and local governments in this bill. That’s what’s been holding it up much of today. In the end, I am hopeful that will either happen in this bill or very soon hereafter. I’m hearing from the mayor of Wilmington and the Governor of Delaware that our revenue shortfalls here in Delaware are striking, and if we can get more aid to states, that impacts the teachers and police officers and firefighters. It’s not just some faceless bureaucracy. It’s the folks we count on to help keep us safe. 

Q: Yeah, and the people that we are asking literally the most of right now. They are putting their lives on the line for all of us day in and day out. Senator, do you get the sense that this is something that you’re going to have to pass in person on the Senate floor? Is the Senate going to be able to do this by unanimous consent or are we going to suddenly see Congress come back into town to do it? 

Sen. Coons: Well Kasie, I really don’t think that we should be bringing all 100 senators back to the floor to cast a vote in this context if we can possibly avoid it, and frankly, that’s the subject of a letter that Senator Klobuchar and Senator Wyden and I have been leading and an effort that we’ve been leading to appropriate more money to make sure that the average American citizen also isn’t forced to go and vote in person while we still have shelter in place orders. As you saw in the state of Wisconsin, we don’t yet have a clear plan for how to deal with voting in the age of this pandemic. So Senators Klobuchar and Wyden and I have been advancing both a bill and funding to allow states to begin planning responsibly now for how they’re going to carry out their delayed primaries and how they’re going to carry out the November election. We shouldn’t put the average American, and, in particular, seniors or those who are immunocompromised in a position of having to choose between exercising their sacred right to vote and keeping themselves and their families safe from this virus, so I think this is an important step forward. It would ask us to give some flexibility to states in terms of match requirements and some dramatic additional resources, $3.6 billion. We’ve heard both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, heads of state parties, and local election officials calling for this. In every election, hundreds of thousands of Americans vote by mail from overseas: folks in our armed forces and our diplomatic corps. President Trump has requested an absentee ballot for this election. If it’s good enough for our troops and our diplomats and our president, I don’t see why vote by mail shouldn’t be a feature in every election in every state this November if people request it.

Q: And yet, we’ve had the president already when talking about similar types of measures, universal voting basically say that he then doesn’t believe a Republican would ever get elected. Do you think that you have a good shot at getting this money in the next C.A.R.E.S. package, not necessarily the one this week but what is sure to follow in May or June, or do you think it’s going to become aggressively politicized?

Sen. Coons: Well, it shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Look there are five states right now that conduct their elections entirely by mail. Utah is one, Oregon is another. Utah is heavily Republican and Oregon is majority Democrat in terms of who they send to Congress. So I don’t think that you can predict what the partisan outcome will be based on whether folks have the ability to cast their votes by mail. A number of states have developed thorough security measures to make sure that they can track every single ballot and they can confirm that the person casting that ballot is, in fact, the registered voter by signature match and by other measures. We ought to be able to do this, to vote securely, if necessary, by mail, if there is an ongoing pandemic problem with us in the fall. And frankly, the lack of planning around several aspects here, around being able to vote by mail, around being able to have enough testing and tracing resources available to public health organizations around our country is a lot of why this pandemic keeps being such a challenge for us. 

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Sen. Coons urges SBA lenders to quickly provide 6-month small business loan relief

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), who serves as ranking member of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee and sits on the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, released the following statement after the Small Business Administration (SBA) published a procedural notice informing its lenders about a provision in the CARES Act, authored by Senator Coons, to completely relieve SBA small business borrowers of their loan payments for six months. 

“We need to do everything we can to ensure small businesses can stay afloat, keep employees on payroll, and reopen their doors after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a critical part of that effort, but we also need to provide additional support to the most vulnerable businesses during this crisis: the 320,000 small businesses across the United States that already had an SBA loan.

“I worked hard to secure a provision in the CARES Act that completely relieves small businesses from SBA loan payments for six months, but so far, some lenders have yet to even notify their borrowers of this benefit. Just yesterday, the SBA published guidance to inform SBA lenders of this benefit. I’m urging all SBA lenders to take the initiative to notify their customers and suspend their automatic payments immediately.”

Senator Coons’ Small Business Debt Relief Act, which passed as part of the CARES Act, assists borrowers in three major SBA lending programs:

• The 7(a) Loan Guarantee Program consists of $95 billion of outstanding loans. The two industries with the largest share of that volume are restaurants and hotels, which are among the hardest-hit by COVID-19. Childcare centers, dental practices, and medical practices also rely heavily on the program.
• The 504 Certified Development Company loan guarantee program provides long-term fixed rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land, buildings, equipment, and machinery and microloan programs. The total of outstanding 504 loans is $26 billion.
• The Microloan program provides loans of up to $50,000 to small businesses and nonprofit childcare centers, via nonprofit intermediary lenders. The total of outstanding microloans is more than $560 million.

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Sens. Carper, Coons, colleagues urge congressional leaders to expand health care coverage in any future coronavirus legislation

WILMINGTON, Del. — Today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) joined Senator Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and 35 of their Senate colleagues in pressing congressional leaders to make sure that any future coronavirus relief legislation includes strong measures to secure health care coverage for Americans in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. In a letter, the senators urged Senate and House leaders to take steps to ensure that those who have lost their employer-based benefits – and those who are uninsured or underinsured – do not have to face this major public health crisis without access to health insurance.

“As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the employment security, financial stability, and health care coverage of millions of American families,” wrote the senators. “Congress has taken unprecedented steps to provide immediate relief to many of these families, but unfortunately – to date – Congress has not included significant coverage provisions in its legislative efforts to address COVID-19.”

“We are in the midst of a global pandemic and strongly believe Congress has an imperative and moral obligation to act as soon as possible to get immediate assistance to Americans without healthcare coverage,” they continued. “Americans cannot and should not have to wait for the healthcare services they need during this global pandemic that is unprecedented during our time.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL), 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment in the week ending April 4, and 6.8 million filed for unemployment in the week prior to that. With approximately half of all of Americans receiving their health care coverage from an employer, the COVID-19 crisis threatens to leave a vast number of individuals without health insurance during the largest public health crisis in a century, adding to the estimated 27 million people in the U.S. who do not currently have health care.

In the letter, the senators included the following initial recommendations that Congress should consider to ensure that Americans have access to health care coverage:

• Strengthen Medicaid: As unemployment increases, states will see an influx of individuals eligible for and in need of Medicaid coverage. Congress should provide states with additional Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) support based on these unemployment rates for all Medicaid populations to help address this influx. In addition, Congress should provide late- and yet-to-expand states with additional supports and incentives to ensure states can appropriately cover the millions of people who lack coverage and expand coverage options where needed.

• Re-open the ACA Marketplace and Provide Premium Relief to Enrollees: Congress should convey to the Administration the importance of using their existing authority to re-open the ACA health care exchanges to ensure that uninsured individuals can immediately enroll in health care coverage. Congress should also enhance assistance through the Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTCs) to ensure more Americans can afford marketplace coverage.

• Provide COBRA Assistance to Individuals with Employer Sponsored Plans: Congress should provide premium reimbursement to newly unemployed Americans that may need to pay the entire premium cost of the employer sponsored healthcare coverage they previously elected in accordance with the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).

In addition to Senators Carper, Coons, and Warner, the letter was signed by Senators Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Kamala Harris (D-Caif.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).

Sens. Carper, Coons, and Warner have long advocated for expanding access to health care. Last year, the senatorsintroduced legislation to allow states that expand Medicaid after 2014 to receive the same full federal matching funds as states that expanded earlier under the terms of the Affordable Care Act.

A copy of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer and Leader McCarthy:

We are writing to urge you to ensure that any upcoming legislation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic includes strong measures to secure continuity in health care coverage for Americans who have lost their employer based benefits and additional individuals who are otherwise uninsured or underinsured. As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the employment security, financial stability, and health care coverage of millions of American families. Congress has taken unprecedented steps to provide immediate relief to many of these families, but unfortunately – to date – Congress has not included significant coverage provisions in its legislative efforts to address COVID-19.

According to the Department of Labor, 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment in the week ending April 4 and the 6.8 million in the week prior to that^[1]. This astounding number is even more concerning knowing that approximately half of all of Americans receive their health care coverage from an employer^[2]. In addition to individuals that may be newly uninsured due to their employment status – there are an estimated 27 million additional Americans entirely without health care coverage^[3] and an increasing number of underinsured Americans. The number of underinsured Americans could continue to grow as individuals are increasingly pushed into skimpier and more expensive plans that often do not provide the same strong consumer protections as plans on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health care exchanges. We are in the midst of a global pandemic and strongly believe Congress has an imperative and moral obligation to act as soon as possible to get immediate assistance to Americans without healthcare coverage.

Below are our initial recommendations we believe Congress should consider to ensure Americans have access to health care coverage:

• Strengthen Medicaid: As unemployment increases, states will see an influx of individuals eligible for and in need of Medicaid coverage. Congress should provide states with additional Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) support based on these unemployment rates for all Medicaid populations to help address this influx. In addition, Congress should provide late- and yet-to-expand states with additional supports and incentives to ensure states can appropriately cover the millions of people who lack coverage and expand coverage options where needed.

• Re-open the ACA Marketplace and Provide Premium Relief to Enrollees: Congress should convey to the Administration the importance of using their existing authority to re-open the ACA health care exchanges to ensure that uninsured individuals can immediately enroll in health care coverage. Congress should also enhance assistance through the Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTCs) to ensure more Americans can afford marketplace coverage.

• Provide COBRA Assistance to Individuals with Employer Sponsored Plans: Congress should provide premium reimbursement to newly unemployed Americans that may need to pay the entire premium cost of the employer sponsored healthcare coverage they previously elected in accordance with the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).

In addition to the initial recommendations listed above we are ready and willing to work with you on additional policies that address this issue, but implore you to act quickly. Americans cannot and should not have to wait for the healthcare services they need during this global pandemic that is unprecedented during our time. Thank you for your attention to this request and we look forward to working with each of you on this critical issue moving forward. 

Sincerely, 

^[1] https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf

^[2] https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/total-population/?dataView=1¤tTimeframe=0&selectedDistributions=employer&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D

^[3] https://www.kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/

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Amid COVID-19 pandemic, Sens. Carper and Coons urge President Trump to automatically extend work authorizations for DACA and TPS recipients

WILMINGTON, Del. — U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and 35 colleagues in a letter to President Trump urging him to automatically extend work authorizations for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients and other impacted immigrants.

More than 200,000 DACA recipients are working in occupational areas the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identifies as part of the “essential critical infrastructure workforce.”  TPS recipients, like DACA recipients, are vital contributors to our economy and health care workforce, with more than 130,000 TPS holders serving as “essential critical infrastructure workers.”

“This simple measure, which is well within your executive authority, will save American lives and avoid further disruptions to our economy,” the senators wrote. “By contrast, going ahead with your Administration’s efforts to deport more than a million DACA and TPS recipients would be needlessly cruel and greatly weaken our nation’s essential workforce.”

An estimated 41,700 DACA recipients and approximately 11,600 TPS recipients work in the health care industry, including physicians and physicians in training, intensive care nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists, nursing assistants, and health technicians.  Additionally, an estimated 14,900 DACA recipients are teachers, many of whom are distance educating American children during the pandemic.

With U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices closed to the public, and many USCIS services suspended, it is likely that Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for many immigrants will expire.  EAD renewals are already backlogged and additional processing delays are inevitable due to COVID-19 disruptions. Additionally, with hundreds of millions of Americans under stay-at-home orders, and hundreds of thousands infected with COVID-19, it will be difficult for many immigrants to collect the required information and submit renewal applications and fees within the required timeframe.

Along with Carper, Coons, and Durbin, the letter is signed by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kirstin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Angus King (I-Maine), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev). 

The full text of the letter is available here and below. 

Dear President Trump:

As our nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, we strongly urge your Administration to automatically extend work authorizations for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients and other impacted immigrants.  This simple measure, which is well within your executive authority, will save American lives and avoid further disruptions to our economy.  By contrast, going ahead with your Administration’s efforts to deport more than a million DACA and TPS recipients would be needlessly cruel and greatly weaken our nation’s essential workforce. 

DACA provides temporary relief from deportation to immigrants who arrived in the United States as children if they register with the government, pay a fee, and clear criminal and national-security background checks.  These young people, known as Dreamers, are American in every way except for their immigration status.  More than 800,000 Dreamers have come forward and received DACA, which has allowed them to contribute more fully to their country and their communities in myriad ways.  More than 200,000 DACA recipients are working in occupational areas the Department of Homeland Security identifies as part of the “essential critical infrastructure workforce.”  An estimated 41,700 DACA recipients work in the health care industry, including physicians and physicians in training, intensive care nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists, nursing assistants, and health technicians.  Additionally, an estimated 14,900 DACA recipients are teachers, many of whom are distance educating American children during the pandemic.

TPS currently provides safety in the United States to approximately 411,000 people from 10 countries, the majority of whom have lived in the United States for more than two decades.  Like DACA recipients, TPS recipients must register with the government, pay a fee, and clear criminal and national-security background checks.  Collectively, more than 90 percent of TPS recipients are nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti, three of the six countries for which your Administration has attempted to terminate TPS.  TPS recipients, like DACA recipients, are vital contributors to our economy and healthcare workforce.  More than 130,000 TPS holders are “essential critical infrastructure workers,” including 11,600 health care workers.

With U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices closed to the public, and many USCIS services suspended, it is likely that Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for many immigrants will expire.  USCIS’s recent decision to process renewals using previously submitted biometrics means that EAD renewals can be adjudicated without a new biometric appointment. However, EAD renewals are already backlogged and additional processing delays are inevitable due to COVID-19 disruptions.  Additionally, with hundreds of millions of Americans under stay-at-home orders, and hundreds of thousands infected with COVID-19, it will be difficult for many immigrants to collect the required information and submit renewal applications and fees within the required timeframe.

Your Administration can immediately ease burdens for thousands of American families, and prevent further, unnecessary economic disruptions during this public health emergency by automatically extending employment authorizations for DACA and TPS recipients and other impacted immigrants.  As Jesus Contreras, a DACA recipient paramedic in Houston who is on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19, says, “We’re not only going to have to worry about this pandemic, but we’re going to have to worry about our immigration status and deportation.”  Similarly, Aldo Martinez, a DACA recipient paramedic in Fort Myers, Florida who is responding to calls from COVID-19 patients, says that losing work authorization would “create more chaos in an already chaotic situation.”  Dr. Manuel Bernal Mejia, a resident in the emergency room at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Chicago, says DACAis “letting me treat and care for patients that are facing this deathly pandemic right now.… If you take away DACA.?.?. it is at least one doctor less to take care of a patient who is critically ill with this virus.”

You can order DHS to immediately ensure that Jesus, Aldo, Manuel, and hundreds of thousands of others in our essential workforce are not forced to stop working when the need for their services has never been greater.  We urge you to prioritize our nation’s health, safety, and economic wellbeing as we grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,   

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Carper, Coons, Blunt Rochester, colleagues urge Administration to increase number of doctors available to fight the coronavirus pandemic

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.) joined colleagues in both the House and Senate in writing a bipartisan letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) urging the Administration to waive restrictions that prevent doctors on certain employment-based visas from providing medical care at locations or in specialties other than those specifically approved for their immigration status. Without a waiver of these restrictions, doctors on H-1B and J-1 visas who provide care in crisis locations, even remotely, would be putting their immigration status in jeopardy. 

“USCIS should immediately waive the requirements of the 2015 Simeio guidance for health care providers seeking changes in previously approved employment or new concurrent employment during the current public health emergency. Such a decision would give our nation’s health care providers the flexibility that is needed to mount an adequate response during this emergency. Doctors need to be able to act now to use their knowledge and training to save lives without fear of the loss of their immigration status,” the lawmakers wrote. 

In addition to Senators Carper and Coons, the letter was signed by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

In addition to Congresswoman Blunt Rochester the letter was signed by Representatives Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Ron Kind (R-Wis.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.), Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), David Trone (D-Md.), Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), Albio Sires (D-N.J.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), David Price (D-N.C.), and John Larson (D-Conn.). 

Earlier this month, the Delaware delegation and colleagues in both the House and the Senate wrote to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) urging the Administration to resume premium processing for physicians seeking employment-based visas.

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Mr. Cuccinelli:

We write to express our concern that regulations for the H-1B and J-1 visa programs are standing in the way of our nation’s having the strongest possible medical response to COVID-19. Medical professionals holding these visas are generally not permitted to provide medical care at locations or in specialties other than those specifically approved for their immigration status. We urge you to waive such restrictions during the public health emergency to increase the number of physicians available to respond to COVID-19.

As you know, H-1B visas are available to workers in “specialty occupations,” which includes licensed physicians. Hospitals and health care providers across the nation, and particularly those in rural regions, rely on this visa program to fill critical vacancies at their facilities. As part of the visa approval process, providers must submit to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-129, which requires employers to identify where and for how long the visa holder will work for the duration of their status. Any changes require a new I-129 per guidance issued by USCIS in 2015.  Similarly, physician residents and fellows on J-1 visas are assigned to a specific employer, location, and specialty, and changes are practically impossible during an approved program year.

While these policies are well intended, the current public health crisis requires a robust and timely medical response that begins with getting physicians to the front lines. Health care workers on H-1B and J-1 visas—including physicians in the Conrad State 30 program, which helps retain U.S.-trained physicians who work in underserved areas—are a key resource in this process. State and local governments as well as health care providers have found that the site-specificity for work authorization has prevented physicians holding an H-1B or J-1 status from transferring to hospitals and facilities that are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients or are experiencing staff shortages due to quarantine requirements. Even telemedicine programs, which can provide needed surge capacity to underserved and rural areas, often cannot employ these physicians to serve patients. Moreover, there are concerns among providers that H-1B and J-1 visa holders may not even be permitted to provide services outside of their medical specialty, even if they are otherwise qualified to do so.

We therefore urge you to grant health care providers relief as soon as possible so that our nation’s critical resources can be effectively deployed. USCIS should immediately waive the requirements of the 2015 Simeio guidance for health care providers seeking changes in previously approved employment or new concurrent employment during the current public health emergency. Such a decision would give our nation’s health care providers the flexibility that is needed to mount an adequate response during this emergency. Doctors need to be able to act now to use their knowledge and training to save lives without fear of the loss of their immigration status.

Thank for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely, 

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons: We should pass more funding immediately for small businesses, state and local governments, healthcare system

WILMINGTON, Del. — Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined MSNBC to discuss Congress’ continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There have been some preliminary negotiations between Senator McConnell and Senator Schumer but the Democratic caucus believes strongly that the road map for going forward is the bill we passed two weeks ago unanimously. That bill had desperately needed money to support small businesses and large businesses, but also resources for our hospitals and for our health systems and for our state and local governments,” Senator Coons said.

“There’s no reason we can’t do both. There is a simple package the Democrats have put forward that should be taken up and passed promptly,” Senator Coons said.

Full video available here. Full transcript available below.

Q: Joining me now Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. He serves on the Appropriations, Foreign Relations and Small Business Committees. He’s also Vice Chair of the Ethics Committee. Senator, it’s always a pleasure to talk to you. Thanks for joining us this morning. Let me first get your reaction to how Democrats are prepared to respond in the event the President tries to adjourn Congress to get these nominations through. 

Sen. Coons:  Well, Ayman, rather than picking fights with Congress, forcing all of to us go look at a very obscure provision of the Constitution that has literally never been invoked and could not possibly work the way the President is imagining it would work, instead of picking that fight with us, I think our President should be working with Congress to make sure that we are delivering the urgently needed funding to support small businesses, hospitals, our health care system, and our state and local governments. Democrats in the Senate have put forward a plan that would do just that. We should be taking it up and passing it today. I’ll remind you; he’s got a lot of vacancies among his senior leadership because he loves to fire people who disagree with him. Our President has a penchant for shoving out the door cabinet officials or senior advisers whose advice he doesn’t want or like. He actually floated the idea of firing Dr. Fauci the other day, retweeting a suggestion from someone that Dr. Fauci should be removed because he was offering suggestions that ran counter to the President’s narrative. So rather than picking fights with the World Health Organization in the middle of a global pandemic or with the Congress citing an ancient and never-before-used provision, I think he should be working with us and we should be working across the aisle to get a package passed promptly that will put more money to support a balanced approach towards helping us recover from this pandemic, and reopen our economy when that’s safe and possible. 

Q: Okay, let me pick up on that point because Democrats and Republicans, they still have not agreed on how to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program, which as you mentioned helps small businesses. That is about to run out of money. Where is this Senate in negotiations as of this morning? We have more unemployed Americans. I believe 300 out of the 350 billion set aside for that have already been spent as of Wednesday and yet there’s no movement on it in the Senate. 

Sen. Coons: There have been some preliminary negotiations between Senator McConnell and Senator Schumer but the Democratic caucus believes strongly that the road map for going forward is the bill we passed two weeks ago unanimously. That bill had desperately needed money to support small businesses and large businesses, but also resources for our hospitals and for our health systems and for our state and local governments. All of them are seeing a record loss of resources.

Q:  Senator, why not do those two separately? Let me jump in on that point. Why not do those two separately, why not get money quickly to small businesses, who many of them are about to go bankrupt and then once that money is done, once that bill is done, focus on the issues that Democrats also want done, which is more money for hospitals? Do you not believe you’ll get that money and that’s why the Democrats want to tie it all in together? 

Sen. Coons: Yes, and two points if I could. Here in Delaware, I’ve been hearing from lots of small businesses and nonprofits, that they weren’t able to get in the door. They weren’t able to get their applications in for this Paycheck Protection Program. I’m on the Small Business Committee, I enthusiastically support the PPP. I’ll remind you the SBA has had less than two weeks to get this money out the door, and they’ve had lots of challenges in partnering with banks and making sure the money gets out and gets out quickly. Democrats are trying to modify the program so that this next $250 billion that Republicans are pushing for, we can make sure that some significant portion of it goes to the smallest businesses and nonprofits, sole proprietors and goes through things like community banks and credit unions and community development financial institutions. We have a small package of modest modifications to this PPP that frankly if accepted, I think would be a great path forward. I haven’t had an update this morning on how the conversations between Senator Schumer and McConnell are going but Senator Schumer is proposing very reasonable modifications to this PPP program. We should take them up and pass them, but I’m also, Ayman, hearing from hospitals, particularly our rural and our Medicare dependent hospitals that they are struggling financially, and that in order to keep their folks at work, in order to get access to the testing and the PPE that should be delivered from our federal government through a coordinated response, they need resources as well. There’s no reason we can’t do both. There is a simple package the Democrats have put forward that should be taken up and passed promptly. 

Q: Let me switch gears for a moment as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, I want to get your reaction to reports that the U.S. Government is investigating the possibility that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory. NBC News has not confirmed reports about the investigation and our reporting still points to lab origins not being the case. I want to play for you the soundbite from U.S. General Milley, Mark Milley about what he had to say. Listen to this — 

General Milley: There’s a lot of rumor and speculation. We’ve had a lot of intelligence take a hard look at that and I would just say at this point, it’s inconclusive, although the weight of evidence seems to indicate natural, but we don’t know for certain. 

Q: Is the Senate looking into this? Is this something you think your committee and others should be probing? Have you gotten any briefings on it? 

Sen. Coons: I haven’t gotten any update from the Foreign Relations Committee. I do think that if you listen closely to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, that was a very careful statement, where he’s saying a majority of the intelligence here still points to this being a virus that came about that jumped from animals to humans in one of these wildlife meat trafficking markets that are called wet markets. They are widespread throughout the developing world. There’s a bipartisan group of us in the Senate on the Foreign Relations Committee who are urging China to take steps to close down these markets, where people sell both live and slaughtered bats and snakes and pangolins and all sorts of animals, and frankly throughout the developing world, there are markets like this, where hungry people rely on animals that are caught live or killed in jungles or forests, and I do think there are things we can and should do on a bipartisan basis to address the origins of pandemic viruses. SARS came from that kind of a wet market. MERS came from that kind of a wet market. There’s some who argue that Ebola and HIV/AIDS emerged from that kind of wet market. This particular pandemic, the novel coronavirus that’s causing COVID-19, we should investigate thoroughly its origins, but that’s frankly exactly why we should continue to partner with the World Health Organization. Make sure that we understand their commitment to transparency, hold China accountable for its failure to promptly share with the world in the early days of this pandemic the warning that they needed to send, but frankly it’s why we need to engage with the world.

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Sens. Coons, Cruz announce bipartisan push for immediate boost to American-Israel cooperation for treating and curing COVID-19

WILMINGTON, Del. — U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today announced their intention to press for a $12 million appropriation in the upcoming Phase 4 / CARES 2 bill to enhance partnerships between companies in the United States and Israel to develop innovative medical projects aimed at detecting, treating, and curing COVID-19. The push is modeled on language in their bipartisan Expanding Medical Partnerships with Israel to Lessen Dependence on China Act. 

Upon announcing the initiative, Sen. Coons said:

“The United States and Israel are world leaders in the medical technology industry, and it is in the interest of all Americans, Israelis, and the rest of the world that we work together to fight COVID-19. This virus knows no borders, and our bill underscores the importance of international collaboration in the face of a truly global pandemic.”

Sen. Cruz said:

“I’ve long said that China poses the most significant, long-term geopolitical threat to the United States. Our dependence on China for life-saving medications and treatments is deeply problematic. Israel is not only our friend and ally, but also a global leader in medicine with which we already cooperate on exactly those issues. I’m proud to push forward to ensure both American and Israeli companies can work together to develop cures and treatments to defeat COVID-19.” 

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Carper, Coons, Blunt Rochester announce CARES Act grants to airports

WILMINGTON, Del. – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper, Chris Coons and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.) announced grant awards totaling $257,000 from U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration to four airports in Delaware These grants were made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The CARES Act provided nearly $10 billion to eligible U.S. airports to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus impacts, including support for continuing airport operations. New Castle Airport received $157,000, Delaware Airpark in Dover received $30,000, Delaware Coastal Airport received $69,000, and Summit in Middletown received $1,000. The Philadelphia International Airport, which also employs Delawareans and has a significant regional economic impact, received $116,281,943.

“Delaware’s airports are economic drivers for our state, supporting jobs while attracting new visitors, more businesses and added investments to our region,” said Senator Carper. “Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a real blow to airports across the country, including ours here in Delaware. As our airports grapple with an unexpected and extraordinary loss of revenue, this funding will help to support jobs and operations during this unprecedented time of hardship.”

“The CARES Act is delivering critical support to ailing industries across our country, and that includes airports and the transportation sector which have been deeply impacted by this pandemic,” said Senator Coons, a member of the Appropriations Committee. “These grants will help keep airport and aviation workers employed in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties and help ensure that airports of all sizes are able to continue operating in the months ahead.”

“Part of our work in Congress through the CARES Act is ensuring that we maintain critical infrastructure during the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “This funding awarded to Delaware’s airports and those that support Delawareans will help ensure the continuity of their operations during this difficult time.”

For more information on these grants, click here. 

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons: ‘WHO has a critical role to play in coordinating a global response’

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell this afternoon to discuss President Trump’s recent decision to halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“It doesn’t help anything for us to look backwards and try to punish the WHO and distract from some of the challenges or failures in our own country. We need to very rapidly scale up reliable testing for antibodies as well as for the infection itself,” said Senator Coons. “[We] happen […] to be in a moment where this highly transmissible and lethal pandemic is beginning to spread rapidly in the developing world. The WHO has a critical role to play in coordinating a global response, as you know I was quite active in our work responding to the Ebola pandemic. Back then, the United States really was leading the global response. Right now, I don’t see the sort of global leadership that we need.”

Full video available here. Full transcript available below.

Q: Joining us now is Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. Senator, first of all, your immediate reaction to the World Health Organization and what the President ordered yesterday. 

Sen. Coons: Well, Andrea, what we need to be focused on is saving lives and getting our economy restarted. And President Trump trying to shift blame to the WHO by cutting off funding or claiming he can cut off funding to this critical global public health organization is like shooting at an ambulance because you don’t like how quickly it responded to its first call when you still have patients lying out in the street, bleeding, needing responses. It doesn’t help anything for us to look backwards and try to punish the WHO and distract from some of the challenges or failures in our own country. We need to very rapidly scale up reliable testing for antibodies as well as for the infection itself. And we happen, Andrea, right now to be in a moment where this highly transmissible and lethal pandemic is beginning to spread rapidly in the developing world. The WHO has a critical role to play in coordinating a global response. As you know, I was quite active in our work responding to the Ebola pandemic. Back then, the United States really was leading the global response. Right now, I don’t see the sort of global leadership that we need. 

Q: Senators Lankford and Portman have also joined other Republican Senators Grassley and others, Collins last week, Romney, in criticizing the President for going back, moving IGs of the 75 IGs, challenging the independence of the Inspectors General who were supposed to be overseeing the trillions of dollars that have gone out. What is your take on that? Is there anything Congress can do? 

Sen. Coons: There is, and I was glad to see this initiative by Senators Lankford and Portman because, frankly, when we unanimously passed the $2.3 trillion CARES Act roughly two weeks ago, there was a lot of concern expressed, particularly by Democrats, about transparency and accountability. Every federal agency has an inspector general, and one of the key functions that they play is holding administrations accountable over the decades, different administrations of different parties. We have relied upon inspectors general and a bipartisan support for their critical work to make sure that we know how the money is being spent, and that we can make sure it’s being spent in an appropriate way. So frankly, I was grateful to see some engagement by Republicans. If we don’t have a bipartisan commitment to pushing back on President Trump’s abrupt firing of the former Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, Atkinson, in sidelining the former Inspector General of the Department of Defense, who was supposed to be chairing the inspector general’s committee for this CARES Act, then we won’t have effective oversight. This was a positive step but, frankly, we need more determined and bipartisan insistence on full transparency in how this record amount of federal funding is being spent to respond to this pandemic. 

Q: Are you at all surprised or concerned about the President having his name put on the stimulus checks that are going out starting today? 

Sen. Coons: Frankly, Andrea, this unprecedented act to ensure that the President’s own signature appears on a check coming out from the Treasury — something that didn’t happen in the ’08-’09 response when there were also stimulus checks sent out, something that doesn’t happen with typical Social Security Administration checks — was just, in my view, an unfortunate stunt to try and ensure that millions of Americans who are now receiving these stimulus checks have some sense of gratitude. Frankly, there is a pattern here of refusing to take responsibility for what has been an uncoordinated and often even chaotic response at the federal level to the urgent demands by governors and mayors for adequate testing and adequate PPE, and an attempt to insist that he has powers and authorities that he doesn’t, and to take credit for things that were done on a unanimous and bipartisan basis. I think it’s a distraction for us to spend too much time focusing on or fighting over this. But I do think it just shows one more thing about the focus, the prioritization and character of our current President. 

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