U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Calls on President Trump to Take Action to Protect Workers & Produce Supplies for More Testing as COVID-19 Pandemic Continues

“If President Trump cares about Wisconsin workers he won’t let my legislation end up in Mitch McConnell’s legislative graveyard.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a hearing today of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is calling for President Trump to take immediate action to protect workers and use the full authority of the Defense Production Act to scale up U.S. production of the supplies that states need to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the growing numbers of sick and deceased essential workers, President Trump’s Department of Labor has failed to put in place enforceable health and safety standards to protect workers during this pandemic. Senator Baldwin introduced The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act, which requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue enforceable standards for all workplaces to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Baldwin’s legislation was included in the HEROES Act, which passed the House of Representatives more than a month ago, but the Republican majority in the Senate has not taken action.  

“I have repeatedly called on the Trump Administration to put in place enforceable health and safety standards to protect workers during this pandemic, but they have failed to act and it has cost too many workers their lives. We cannot combat this pandemic if we do not take immediate action to protect all those working on the frontlines every day to move our country forward, including  health care, food-service, meatpacking plant and grocery store workers,” said Senator Baldwin. “That is why I have introduced The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act, because it is the single best way to require all workplaces to protect the health and safety of their workers, protect workers who report unsafe working conditions, and prevent additional outbreaks and further spread of COVID-19. My legislation was included in the HEROES Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives last month. If President Trump cares about Wisconsin workers he won’t let my legislation end up in Mitch McConnell’s legislative graveyard.”

Senator Baldwin also called for more testing after President Trump suggested doing less testing at a campaign event this weekend. Baldwin has introduced legislation - the Medical Supply Transparency and Delivery Act – which would require the president to unlock the full authority and power of the Defense Production Act in order to scale up nation-wide production of the testing supplies, personal protective equipment, and medical equipment needed at the local level. Key parts of Baldwin’s legislation are included in the House-passed HEROES Act. 

“President Trump has a daily testing plan at the White House for himself, Vice President Pence and senior staff, but he still doesn’t have a national plan to do the widespread testing that we need across our country. The White House is still playing catch up on this public health crisis because the President has not unlocked the full power of the Defense Production Act to increase national production of testing supplies, personal protective equipment, and medical equipment needed to respond to this pandemic and save lives,” Senator Baldwin said.