Press Releases

Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) led a group of a thirteen House lawmakers in a letter urging House and Senate leadership to reach a final bipartisan agreement on additional COVID-19 relief.

The lawmakers called for the deal to include funding that would replenish the Biden Administration’s ability to purchase and distribute vaccines, therapeutics, and antibody treatments.

“It is critical to our nation’s public health and the economy that these additional funds be passed soon. Without them, much of the progress we have made in fighting this pandemic and returning to normalcy will be lost,” the members wrote. “Uninsured individuals will be most affected as they will no longer have access to free tests and treatments…Immunocompromised individuals will also be severely impacted as the federal government will no longer be able to purchase enough treatments for this population.”

The members also stressed the need for the deal to include $5 billion in funding for global COVID-19 prevention and treatment efforts.

The letter was signed by U.S. Representatives Salud Carbajal, Grace Napolitano (D-Calif), Karen Bass (D-Calif), Julia Brownley (D-Calif), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif), Carolyn Maloney (D-Calif), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Colo), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Darren Soto (D-Fla), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass).

A copy of the letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell can be found here.

The full text of the letter can be found below:

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McCarthy, and Minority Leader McConnell,

We write to urge you to continue working towards a bipartisan supplemental COVID-19 relief package of $22.5 billion, with $17.5 billion being used on domestic supplies and treatments and $5 billion to fight the pandemic abroad. While we were happy to see the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 signed into law, finally delivering stable funding to crucial federal programs, we were disappointed to see the funding for additional COVID-19 relief stripped.

It is critical to our nation’s public health and the economy that these additional funds be passed soon. Without them, much of the progress we have made in fighting this pandemic and returning to normalcy will be lost. The Administration has made it clear that without additional funds the distribution of monoclonal anti-body treatments will be scaled back, and additional vaccines cannot be purchased in the event a fourth booster is needed.

Uninsured individuals will be most affected as they will no longer have access to free tests and treatments. In parts of the country, people without insurance will have to pay $55 to be tested, a significant financial burden.  Immunocompromised individuals will also be severely impacted as the federal government will no longer be able to purchase enough treatments for this population.

Funding is especially needed to continue efforts to vaccinate the pediatric population since only 41 percent of children ages 5 to 17 years old are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.  To protect our country’s public health and the economy it is necessary funding for these programs be replenished. Communities across the country badly need these funds to continue combatting COVID-19.

Lastly, without an additional $5 billion, efforts to reach unvaccinated populations in countries without the means to produce and deploy vaccines will end.  Providing this support abroad is crucial to mitigating emerging variants and bringing the pandemic under control. 

We urge you to continue working on a viable path forward to swiftly pass $22.5 billion in additional COVID-19 relief. We stand ready to work with you in a fiscally responsible way and thank you in advance for your consideration.