WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), joined with nine of her Senate colleagues in requesting details from Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ coronavirus preparedness and response efforts and how the Department plans to protect the safety, health, and security of students, teachers, and school staff amid increasing threat from the coronavirus.
“As public health officials warn about the likely spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States, we write to understand how the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is preparing for the possible spread of the virus and communicating with frontline stakeholders, school districts, state educational agencies, and institutions of higher education about how to best protect students, teachers, and other staff,” wrote the Senators.
Read the Senators full letter here.
BACKGROUND: In order to understand the Department’s role in the federal government’s coronavirus preparedness and response efforts and whether the concerns of students, teachers, school staff, and their families are being considered, the Senators requested answers to their questions no later than March 9.
Earlier today, Senator Rosen joined with eight of her Senate colleagues in requesting details from Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia about the Department of Labor’s coronavirus preparedness and response efforts and how the Department plans to protect the safety, health, and economic security of workers and their families in light of the increasing threat from the coronavirus.
Yesterday during a Senate HELP Committee Hearing, Senator Rosen questioned health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the opportunity to utilize telehealth as a means of treatment for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Senator Rosen also expressed support for ensuring that health insurance limitations are not an obstacle to patients seeking telehealth care.
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