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BPC’s Hoagland and Parekh on New COVID Relief Bill

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Joann Donnellan

Washington, DC – Today, the Bipartisan Policy Center issued the following statement by Senior Vice President G. William Hoagland and Chief Medical Advisor Anand Parekh, M.D. on the passage of a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package for the American people. This bipartisan legislation will provide relief for jobless Americans, small businesses, and the nation’s health care systems.

In October, BPC’s Future of Health Care leaders released a statement urging Congress and the administration to quickly agree on a short-term COVID-19 package that focused on allocating new funding and resources for testing and contract tracing, vaccine distribution and monitoring, health and safety measures at schools, and housing and nutrition assistance.

This new relief bill includes significant federal funding for vaccine distribution; COVID-19 testing, contract tracing, and mitigation efforts; nutrition and rental assistance; and health care providers as well as needed financial resources for small businesses; unemployed workers; and American families, but more work needs to be done.

“The $70 billion made available for vaccines, testing, tracing, and to community health centers and health care providers along with direct economic relief to families is critical to stabilizing our health care system that has come under tremendous pressure battling COVID-19,” said G. William Hoagland, BPC senior vice president. “But with rising infections and deaths, it is highly likely that additional bipartisan support will be needed in the new year to defeat the virus and restore health and economic normalcy.”

“This is an important first step for the American people,” said Dr. Anand Parekh, BPC Chief Medical Advisor. “We look forward to a broader relief package next year under the Biden administration that can focus on improving our nation’s public health infrastructure. This type of investment is critical to assuring Americans have the public health protection they deserve.”

Save the Date: On Friday, January 29, BPC’s Future of Health Care leaders will release a new report with recommendations for immediate action to bolster the nation’s pandemic response.

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