Davis introduces COVID-19 bill

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

Looking to provide a safety net for front line medical professionals fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, state Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, announced Tuesday that he has introduced legislation seeking “to ensure these workers have the support they need during this ongoing crisis.”

“COVID-19 has created a significant burden for health care workers,” Davis said. “Health care workers across this commonwealth are on the front lines battling this virus every day. They selflessly continue to fight to save the lives of our families, friends and neighbors. 

“As government leaders we need to ensure they have the support they need during this difficult time — it’s the least we can do.”

Davis did not provide specifics Tuesday, but said his legislation would invest in personal protective equipment to help protect front line health care workers and their patients and establish “mental health supports” for front-line health care workers. 

Davis said many health care providers “are working long hours under extreme stress and personal hardship.”

He said the newly introduced legislation would also allow for the creation of a childcare grant program for front line health care workers to ensure they are able to afford high-quality childcare as they work “to save lives.”

Davis said the legislation is expected to be considered by the House “in the near future.”

“In response to this crisis, health care workers all across the state and country have stepped up to take care of those in need,” Davis said in the memorandum to fellow members of the state House. “Just as our health care workers have stepped up to take care of us in this time of need, we need to step up and do everything we can to take care of them.”

Defense
Production Act

Davis also recently released a statement calling on President Donald Trump to put the full power of the federal government into producing protective equipment by utilizing the Defense Production Act “to the greatest extent possible.”

“The rise of COVID-19 cases statewide has called for drastic measures. Gov. Tom Wolf and the state Department of Health have done an amazing job and have been transparent and up front since the beginning. However, more needs to be done — at the federal level,” Davis said. “… It’s unconscionable that in the United States of America our health care workers and other front-line responders are being put in danger because of a lack of personal protective equipment. 

“That is why I’m calling upon President Trump to utilize the Defense Production Act, in hopes of getting our first responders and medical professionals the protective equipment they need during this truly trying time in our country. This, of all things, needs to be a main priority as we try to combat and slow the spread of COVID-19.”