Advanced Geothermal Innovation Leadership Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Right now, families across this country are actually looking to Congress to put partisanship aside and put their needs first and are counting on us to listen to experts and make decisions that are guided by science, not by ideology.

They need to know that our No. 1 priority and what we should be talking about is public health today.

Instead of discussing this harmful bill that will gut reproductive rights, put unnecessary restrictions on medical providers, and undermine medical research, which is an absolute nonstarter and the absolute last thing we should be doing right now, I think we should be focused on what families actually need us to be focused on, which is the coronavirus outbreak and what it means for them and what we are doing about it.

The news of this virus is spreading throughout the country. The deaths, the illness, and the confusion it has caused in my home State of Washington and elsewhere are beyond alarming. The Trump administration has fallen far short of its responsibilities to Washington State and to communities nationwide.

I am pleased Democrats and Republicans in Congress were able to put partisanship aside to hammer out the robust emergency supplemental funding agreement that was announced earlier today. It is an agreement that goes well beyond President Trump's totally inadequate request in order to actually meet the needs we are hearing about from the officials on the frontlines of this crisis, like reimbursing States and local governments that have shouldered the cost of this response so far or the need to support research so we can develop new treatments and diagnostic tests and vaccines and the need to make sure those are available to everyone.

This agreement helps us prepare for what is next by providing funding to shore up our store of medical supplies, support medical community health centers in underserved areas, and bolster global health and public health preparedness programs.

I am working to make sure we get that bill signed into law as soon as possible, and I will continue to follow it closely because experts have already made it very clear this is not going to be over soon.

While the funding is a great first step, we need to make sure it is not the last one. It is very critical that we continue listening to our health experts, providing needed resources, and preparing for what is next, including what this will mean for families' day-to-day lives and for people who can't take a day off work without losing a paycheck or don't have affordable childcare if a school closes or don't have health insurance or are experiencing homelessness.

I hope my Republican colleagues will think long and hard about what their priorities are in the midst of this and choose to refocus their energy on working with us to address the urgent issues of the day instead of distracting us from serious work and wasting time we don't have.

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