Blue Dog Coalition Releases Policy Recommendations for COVID-19 Pandemic Response
Blue Dogs propose policies to Congress, Trump Administration that would help save jobs, keep businesses afloat, support rural communities, ensure oversight of taxpayer dollars, and deliver medical resources to states and communities in need.
Today, the Democratic Blue Dog Coalition released its policy recommendations for both Congress and the Trump Administration to consider as they continue to respond to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The recommendations were developed within the policy parameters of the Blue Dog Coalition’s five policy task forces: 1) Task Force on Economic Growth, 2) Task Force on Fiscal Responsibility and Government Reform, 3) Task Force on Infrastructure and Job Creation, 4) Task Force on National Security, and 5) Task Force on Rural Opportunity.
Rep. Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), the Blue Dog Coalition’s Co-Chair for Policy, issued the following statement:
“The coronavirus pandemic has become a national public health and economic crisis. Partisan proposals will do nothing to contain the spread of this virus or deliver peace of mind to the American people. With the lives and livelihoods of working families on the line, both parties must do all that they can to work together to reach bipartisan, bicameral agreement on policies going forward. The administration must work directly with states and serve as a focal point from which governors and state officials can draw communications plans, educational outreach materials, and recommended logistics, not to mention physical supplies and direct aid. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Blue Dog Coalition’s policy task forces to hold the administration accountable during this time and put forward proposals that will deliver results quickly.”
The recommendations include measures to protect as many jobs as possible while also giving businesses of all sizes the resources they need to stay afloat. Additionally, the Blue Dogs called for increased support for rural and tribal areas that particularly lack the resources to respond to both the public health threat and the changing economic dynamics. With Congress on the verge of spending trillions of dollars, the Blue Dogs recommend including oversight measures to ensure taxpayer dollars are not misused.
Finally, the Blue Dogs also urged President Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act, which gives the president the authority to direct private companies to ramp up production of critical resources for the medical community, including ventilator machines, N95 masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE), and testing kits. The president has thus far refused to do so.
Read the full list of policy recommendations from the Blue Dog Policy Task Forces to Congress and the Trump Administration below.
