Deirdre Cummings
Legislative Director, MASSPIRG
617-747-4319
[email protected]
Statement: President Biden’s executive orders will help tackle COVID-19
Media Contacts
Utilizing the Defense Production Act to ramp up testing and PPE production is long overdue
MASSPIRG
BOSTON — President Joe Biden issued a set of sweeping executive orders Thursday to combat COVID-19. They include using the Defense Production Act to ramp up testing, boost production of personal protective equipment (PPE) and any other materials needed to distribute and administer the vaccines. The president will also establish a board tasked with expanding testing capacity.
Last spring, MASSPIRG, with its national partner mobilized more than 100 mayors, and 300 health professionals across the country to call for full use of the Defense Production Act to produce and distribute PPE. Several Massachusetts mayors joined the call, including Paul Brodeur of Melrose, Michael Cahill of Beverly, Gary Christenson of Malden, Carlo DeMaria of Everett, Kimberley Driscoll of Salem, Thomas McGee of Lynn, Jon Mitchell of New Bedford, Alex Morse of Holyoke, Dan Rivera of Lawrence, Domenic Sarno of Springfield, Sumbul Siddiqui of Cambridge, and Yvonne Spicer of Framingham.
In response, Deirdre Cummings, MASSPIRG’s legislative director, released the following statement:
“We’re nearly a year into a war against COVID-19, but we still lack the necessary tools to fight. The previous administration passed responsibility to the states and local governments to secure PPE and testing, creating a chaotic marketplace rife with confusion and competition. The result is that health professionals still don’t have the equipment they need to keep themselves safe, and experts say we should be doing four times more testing than we are now to suppress the virus.
“President Biden’s actions today will go a long way toward giving our country a fighting chance against this virus. We’re calling on Congress to swiftly approve the billions in funding that the president has requested to fully implement these measures.”
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