HOUSTON, TX – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary and the Homeland Security Committee, a Member of the Budget Committee, and Chair of the Congressional Coronavirus Task Force made several proposals to fight the rising crisis of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

On January 30, 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a “public health emergency from the outbreak of the Coronavirus. This virus continues to infect populations around the world, including right here at home in the United States, which is now classified as a world pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is causing an economic decline in the world’s financial markets.

“It is important for Congress to effectively address the economic fallout caused by this growing pandemic that is impacting our financial markets and impacting the financial stability of everyday working families laid off due to no fault of their own, but for the safety of their co-worker, their families and the broader community. That is why I support an economic stimulus package and proposed several items to provide relief to families, health related organizations and institutions, school districts, governmental entities and government workers impacted by this pandemic,” stated Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

I proposed the following key items as a down payment toward combatting and defeating the impact of this virus:

1. Enhanced funding for small, urban and rural hospitals under 150 beds. Added resources for their standing emergency rooms including training as necessary for patients without mobility to be tested at the hospital.

2. Increased funding for federally qualified health clinics. Resources to provide separate facilities which may include blocking off certain areas of the facility to provide for walk in patients with Coronavirus symptoms. .

3. Enhanced training and resources for CBP personnel where international flights land beyond the originally designated airports. More assessment is needed to prevent persons with Coronavirus symptoms from leaving the airport into the general population, before medical personnel can assess them.

4. Funding for airports that receive international travelers to allow for quarantine facilities to be established and for medical personnel to be onsite.

5. Funding for school districts to cover non-teaching personnel to make sure cafeteria workers, bus drivers and janitorial services have equal access to resources if their schools are closed and financial support for those school districts that have to close.

6. Financial support for state and county governments as needed.

7. Enhanced funding for protective equipment for Transportation Security Officers.

8. Telemedicine visits should be covered with reimbursement

“This is not a time for hysteria or propaganda, but rather a time for facts and action. We must be certain to utilize all information and federal resources available to ensure that efforts to stem the spread of this virus is successful. As Chair of the Congressional Coronavirus Taskforce, we will continue to monitor all the efforts to contain, treat and develop drugs necessary to stop the virus,” stated Congresswoman Jackson Lee.