Law360 is providing free access to its coronavirus coverage to make sure all members of the legal community have accurate information in this time of uncertainty and change. Use the form below to sign up for any of our weekly newsletters. Signing up for any of our section newsletters will opt you in to the weekly Coronavirus briefing.
Sign up for our Public Policy newsletter
You must correct or enter the following before you can sign up:
Thank You!
Law360 (March 19, 2020, 5:29 PM EDT) -- Several key House lawmakers focused on veterans' issues are putting pressure on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to explain what actions it's taking in response to the novel coronavirus and how it's helping vets, dozens of whom are reportedly infected.
House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, D-Calif., and ranking member Rep. David Roe, R-Tenn., spearheaded a letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie with a long list of queries as to how the federal agency is tackling COVID-19 risks to people who served.
The bipartisan group acknowledged the VA is giving lawmakers daily updates on the pandemic, and asked for a continued open line of communication.
"Now that VA has reported 44 cases (including one death), and President Trump has declared a national emergency, Congress needs timely information to inform the veterans and the American people we serve, provide oversight of the VA's response to the pandemic, and ensure VA is resourced with the personnel, supplies and infrastructure necessary," the 27 lawmakers wrote Wednesday.
They are seeking daily written updates in six areas: number of COVID-19 test kits available to the Veterans Health Administration; number of veterans tested, both internally and outside the VA; number of employees tested; status of all test results, including the number of positive and presumptive positive results and the location and status of those patients; data on how long tests and results take; and criteria for testing veterans and employees.
Further, the members of Congress asked Wilkie for weekly written updates in several more areas, including number of acute care or ICU beds, current use statistics and the number used to treat COVID-19 patients; number of ventilators and percentage in current use; personal protective equipment supply levels; number of negative pressure beds and current use statistics; pharmaceutical supply levels; and current staffing levels, including the number of employees out of work due to illness and/or not at work due to a positive test for COVID-19 or exposure to a positive individual.
The House members also sought weekly written updates on current guidance given to VA employees and contractors who feel they may have been exposed, have symptoms or are responsible for a child or family member who must remain home as a result of COVID-19.
They asked for the daily updates starting March 18, and the weekly updates starting March 20. Moreover they asked for a response to a detailed questionnaire keyed to specific agencies under the VA by March 25.
The VA did not immediately respond to a press inquiry Thursday.
--Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
