Calling for Bipartisan Response to Coronavirus

Floor Speech

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Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address three issues of critical importance to my constituents.

The first is the urgent need to prepare for the coronavirus.

Mr. Speaker, public health officials are now reporting the first presumed positive test in my home State of New Hampshire.

As Members of Congress, our foremost responsibility is to keep our communities safe. That is why, yesterday, I joined Governor Sununu and my colleagues in the New Hampshire congressional delegation to receive an update from public health officials on our State's ongoing efforts to combat this epidemic.

The State of New Hampshire is currently ramping up testing capabilities, investigating potential cases, communicating with Federal partners, and working with individual communities on containment and mitigation.

Here in Washington, we must ensure that the emergency coronavirus spending package is responsive to the urgent needs of State and local public health officials who are on the front lines of this situation.

We can only succeed in containing the virus if States like New Hampshire can depend on the full support of the Federal Government for costs associated with the response effort.

Mr. Speaker, if there were ever a moment for a renewed spirit of bipartisanship in Congress, this is it, as our country focuses on the deadly virus outbreak.

We must communicate health information clearly. We must develop effective and affordable vaccines that are made available to all who need them. And we must ensure that State and local governments, as well as medical facilities, can sustain the arduous task of containing this outbreak in the weeks and months ahead.

The American people are looking to us for levelheaded leadership that rises above politics, and we can't let them down.

Let's pass a robust coronavirus package as soon as possible.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to encourage all of my constituents to follow the CDC safety guidelines and to visit the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services website for updated health information. Progress Needed on Care for Veterans

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Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, I also rise today in support of veterans who are seeking services in the community and the providers who care for them.

For too long, hospitals and providers in New Hampshire have been owed millions of dollars in unpaid claims for the care they provide to veterans.

The community care providers impacted include large hospital networks, home healthcare providers, massage therapists, and acupuncturists.

I have personally met with these local providers to hear their stories, and I have convened meetings of affected stakeholders in New Hampshire and here in Washington.

Here is the bottom line: Without real progress, the MISSION Act will never fulfill its promise, and care for our veterans will be compromised.

Last week, at a hearing of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I received a promise from Secretary Wilkie that the VA will take immediate action to fix these persistent payment issues for community providers in New Hampshire and across the country. We have to hold the VA to this commitment.

My office is bringing VA leaders, veterans, providers, and third- party administrators to the table to solve these problems once and for all.

When our veterans return home, they shouldn't have to fight to receive the care that they have earned, and local providers shouldn't have to fight a stubborn bureaucracy just to get their bills paid, to keep their doors open, and to continue treating our veterans.

We can and must do better on this front. Empowering Parents in New Hampshire

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Mr. PAPPAS. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about empowering parents in New Hampshire to develop the skills they need to pursue the American Dream.

No parent should have to choose between caring for a child and providing a better life for their families.

That is why I am introducing the American Job Centers Family Accessibility Act, which will create a competitive grant program for job centers to provide access to childcare for individuals receiving services at their centers.

In 2018, more than 5.4 million unemployed workers, including more than 500,000 veterans, took advantage of career services at job centers in their communities. But despite clear evidence that job centers are effective, barriers to access for jobseekers still remain.

In New Hampshire, State officials tell me that the number one obstacle to job training is access to childcare. No one who works hard and wants to develop new skills should be denied that opportunity simply because they can't find quality, affordable childcare for their kids.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the American Job Centers Family Accessibility Act so that working mothers and fathers aren't unfairly denied the chance to earn a better job and a better life for their families.

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