Congressional Democrats Press DeSantis for Omicron Policies that Protect Floridian's Health and Economy

Press Release

Today, Florida's Congressional Democrats united to press Gov. Ron DeSantis to embrace testing, vaccination and local control policies that more aggressively protect the health and well-being of Florida's residents and businesses as a surge in the new Omicron variant negatively impacts schools, hospitals, municipalities and various job sectors.

"Floridians want to get back to life as normal. We want to keep kids in schools, businesses open, tourism thriving, and residents able to return to their daily lives. The new Omicron variant has taken Florida by storm, and we are concerned that state leadership has been minimal, inconsistent, and confusing," the members wrote in a letter led by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and signed by every Democrat in the Congressional delegation, which includes Reps.: Kathy Castor (FL-14), Ted Deutch (FL-22), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), Lois Frankel (FL-21), Charlie Crist (FL-13), Val Demings (FL-10, Al Lawson (FL-05), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), and Darren Soto (FL-09).

The Members urged DeSantis to strongly encourage vaccines and boosters to residents, and to stop propagating messages that contribute to vaccine hesitancy. They also pressed DeSantis to repeal guidance that discourages wider testing, and to leverage available federal assistance in conducting them, as well as repeal state laws that limit the flexibility of local governments and business to effectively deal with the recent outbreak in cases and hospitalizations.

"We are closing out the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our fear is that your Administration is focused solely on appealing to a small minority who seek virtually no public health response, and that this motivation takes precedence over the health of Florida's people and economy. We stand ready to be of assistance to you," the Members wrote.

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