WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Michael Bennet (D-CO) and 44 of their Senate colleagues in a letter to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence demanding answers about supplies and equipment in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) critical to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. The senators asked the President and Vice President to confirm any relevant supply and equipment shortages in the SNS, to outline their strategy to close any such shortages, and to clarify how they plan to use Defense Production Act powers to increase production of supplies and equipment needed for the pandemic response.
“Given the scale of the threat that COVID-19 poses to public health, responding to the outbreak is placing substantial strain on state, local, territorial, and tribal public health agencies’ already- limited resources,” the Senators wrote. “Furthermore, states and health care facilities who are trying to do as the President says and ‘get it yourself,’ find that the supply simply is not available. We urge you to be proactive and utilize the powers that you invoked on March 18, 2020, under the Defense Production Act (DPA) to mobilize private industry to manufacture the supplies and equipment needed to address this crisis.”
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Along with Senators Duckworth, Durbin and Bennet, the letter is signed by Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (C-CT), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Doug Jones (D-AL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Krysten Sinema (D-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tom Udall (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen )D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
