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Dear Friend,
I’m writing to update you on the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and my work in the Senate to make sure Virginia and the country as a whole are responding appropriately to this threat. At the time of this writing, 17 cases of coronavirus have been reported here in Virginia, and Governor Northam has issued an emergency declaration that provides the Commonwealth with enhanced tools to combat this outbreak.
The most important thing for all of us to do is to follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health officials to minimize the risk of contracting and spreading the virus. I have embedded the CDC’s coronavirus information page on my Senate website, and encourage you to visit the site for both the latest guidance, as well as updates on my work on this issue.
In the time since the coronavirus reached the United States, Congress passed an $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus response bill, which the President signed into law. This legislation will direct needed resources to federal, state and local agencies responding to coronavirus. It will also immediately provide Virginia with $13.3 million in federal funding to help cover the costs of preparations for this public health emergency.
With Congress and the President now working towards an economic stimulus package for those facing economic insecurity due to coronavirus, I will continue to push for measures that take care of workers, not just companies’ bottom lines. My message is simple: no one should have to choose between a paycheck and following the instructions of public health officials. We must help workers who’ve been furloughed, lost their jobs, or had their hours cut — as well gig workers, independent contractors, and others who don’t have paid leave.
Since the outbreak began, I have been in contact with federal, state, and local officials, as well as business leaders, calling on them to respond appropriately to the threats posed by coronavirus. For a full list of my work in the Senate and additional public health information from the CDC, I encourage you to visit my website , then use the survey below to share your thoughts on the coronavirus with me.
If you want to share your thoughts about an issue that’s important to you, you can send me an email any time using the form on my Senate website. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter . I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
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Editorial comment: I think that, however deadly coronavirus turns out to be, it's an airborne disease being rapidly spread by people who claim good intentions. It will reach us. We'll get it. Either we'll have more flu-type symptoms that probably aren't nearly as bad as glyphosate reactions are for me, or as a toothache or a flare-up of allergies or rheumatism are for some of you, or else we will be very ill and die. In neither case will throwing federal tax money at the problem do one thing to help it; for one thing it won't have time to.
We could be going into a situation similar to what's described in Hiding Ezra, a rerun of what really happened about a hundred years ago...All I know is that a lot of my elders, on both sides, remembered outliving a lot of same-age friends in 1920 when they died, at ages between 70 and 100, in the years between 1970 and 2010. I'm not looking forward to it; neither am I worrying about it.
Is anybody going to vote for federal payments to people who aren't working? Not sustainable. Try voting with your own personal money and paying a deserving writer (or other self-employed person) who is working.
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