WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) voted in favor over $7 billion in emergency funding for the U.S. response to the Coronavirus as well as extending emergency telehealth services. This legislation does not contain any policy riders or political poison pills, and is the product of a bipartisan compromise to address this emergency. This bill provides important funding that allows the Administration to address the virus at home and abroad, including expediting vaccine development, purchasing essential equipment and supplies, and assisting state and local health departments. Over half of the funding will go to make diagnostic tests more widely available, to support treatments to ease symptoms of those infected, and vaccine development.
“As a former public health official, I recognize the critical role our public officials play in combatting potential epidemics,” said Wittman. “This emergency funding operationalizes resources at the federal, state, and local level to control this virus and funds the research and development necessary to produce a vaccine. I’m glad we were able to come together to get this emergency supplemental passed and hope my colleagues in the Senate are soon to follow.”
Background:
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel Coronavirus, which was first identified during an outbreak investigation in the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei province. Risk of infection is dependent on exposure. Close contacts of people who are infected are at greater risk of exposure. Accurate, reliable information about COVID-19 can be found on the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) website or the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website. You can view my initial update to constituents here where I give a more in-depth description of the virus and prevention techniques.
