Murray Calls for Congress to Pass Bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act In End-of-Year Package

Murray: “Our country has made great progress in the fight against COVID-19. Families have been getting back to their daily lives, and the thing I keep hearing from people in my state: they want to keep it that way.”

On Senate floor, Murray presses colleagues to get bipartisan pandemic bill across the finish line

Murray-Burr PREVENT Pandemics Act passed the HELP Committee in an overwhelming 20-2 vote earlier this year

Murray: “Families across the country are watching closely. Let’s show them we are taking the lessons of this pandemic seriously. Let’s show them we are taking action so we never go through a crisis like this again. Let’s make sure the PREVENT Pandemics Act is part of our end-of-year package.”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), spoke on the Senate floor about the urgent need for Congress to take action on pandemic preparedness. She urged her colleagues to work with her and HELP Ranking Member Senator Burr (R-NC) to include their bipartisan Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act) in any end-of-year package.  

“Senator Burr and I have led the HELP Committee this Congress, and from day one it was clear to us that pandemic preparedness had to be a priority. Because the next time there is a crisis like this, we cannot have people asking: Why can’t I get a test? Where can I get reliable information? How can we be so unprepared for this? And that means we must learn the lessons of this pandemic, and ensure our government works better and smarter in preparing and responding to public health threats,” said Senator Murray. “That’s exactly what Senator Burr and I set out to do when we crafted the PREVENT Pandemics Act—which passed out of the HELP Committee in an overwhelming 20 to 2 vote earlier this year. Our bill improves our public health system by learning from what worked, and what didn’t, in our COVID response.”

The PREVENT Pandemics Act is a package of bipartisan proposals to strengthen the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems and is the result of bipartisan efforts Senator Murray and Senator Burr kicked off in early 2021 to examine what has worked, and what has not, during the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill passed the HELP Committee in an overwhelming bipartisan 20-2 vote earlier this year.

Among other steps, the PREVENT Pandemics Act would:

• Improve Strategy and Coordination Among Our Public Health Preparedness Agencies
• Strengthen Supply Chain and Government Stockpiles of Medical Products, Such as Masks, Drugs, Vaccines, and Tests
• Ensure the CDC’s Accountability and Leadership by Requiring a Senate-confirmed CDC Director and an Agency-wide Strategic Plan  
• Improve Our Capabilities to Detect and Monitor Emerging Infectious Disease and Other Threats, Including Updates to Public Health Data to Quickly Provide Comprehensive, Actionable Insight During Public Health Emergencies
• Enhance the Development and Review of Tests, Treatments, and Vaccines, and Mitigate Critical Shortages of Medical Products
• Address Disparities Which Make Public Health Emergencies Harder On At-Risk Populations and Communities
• Improve Public Health Communication and Address Misinformation
• Revitalize the Public and Community Health Workforce
• Accelerate Biomedical Research to Develop Medical Countermeasures for Pandemic Threats, and Enhance Research on the Long-term Effects of COVID-19 and Faster Test Development
• Ensure Continued Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services During Public Health Emergency Responses
• Establish an Independent Task Force to Conduct a Comprehensive Review of the COVID-19 Response

See full text of Senator Murray’s remarks below and video HERE.

“Our country has made great progress in the fight against COVID-19. Families have been getting back to their daily lives, and the thing I keep hearing from people in my state: they want to keep it that way. They want to keep moving forward, and make sure we never find ourselves in the same situation again And I could not agree more. But that means taking action. It means not letting this moment—this Congress—pass us by and instead, actually delivering the public health reforms families need. Which is why I’m urging all of my colleagues to ensure any end-of-year package includes my bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act.”

“Senator Burr and I have led the HELP Committee this Congress, and from day one it was clear to us that pandemic preparedness had to be a priority. Because the next time there is a crisis like this, we cannot have people asking Why can’t I get a test? Where can I get reliable information? How can we be so unprepared for this?”

“And that means we must learn the lessons of this pandemic, and ensure our government works better and smarter in preparing and responding to public health threats. That’s exactly what Senator Burr and I set out to do when we crafted the PREVENT Pandemics Act—which passed out of the HELP Committee in an overwhelming 20 to 2 vote earlier this year. Our bill improves our public health system by learning from what worked, and what didn’t, in our COVID response.”

“A big piece of that is establishing the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy at the White House to serve as ‘mission control’ so that we have a team in place, ready to go 24/7, to guide our federal response to new and emerging threats.”

“We’ve also seen how dangerous shortages have been throughout the crisis. That’s why the PREVENT Pandemics Act strengthens our stockpiles and supply chains for drugs, ventilators, testing components, masks,and other lifesaving medical supplies.”

“Of course with a new threat, the issue isn’t just a shortage of tools—it’s that the tests, treatments, and vaccines may not even exist yet. So our bill establishes ARPA-H—a new agency focused on cutting edge medical research—like the kind that made it possible for us to develop safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines in record time.”

“And our bill also supports potentially lifesaving research on issues like antivirals for pathogens with pandemic potential, antimicrobial resistance, better coordination in our blood supply, best practices for emergency preparedness and response, and long-COVID which so many people are still struggling with.”

“This pandemic has also put a spotlight on how inadequate data from outdated, and often incompatible, systems can make it hard for health experts to do their jobs. In the 21st century, the CDC should not be collating data sent from fax machines and incomplete demographic data should not hinder experts making lifesaving decisions. Put simply: our government can work better—and faster—than this. That’s why the PREVENT Pandemics Act will finally help modernize and standardize our public health data practices.”

“Everyone should understand that with some really common-sense reforms, we can make our public health system work better for everyone—including communities of color, Tribes, people with disabilities, rural communities, and others who have really borne the brunt of this crisis. We’re talking about really basic, bipartisan steps, like ensuring Tribal access to medical supply stockpiles, better practices for demographic data collection, and improving diversity in clinical trials. This is especially critical. In fact, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Washington state just published a new study showing how Black communities, Asian communities, women, and others were underrepresented in many U.S. COVID clinical trials.  We have to do better for all our communities.”

“And we have to do better for parents too. I’ve heard from too many moms and dads throughout this pandemic, who felt like no one else was listening to them about the challenges their kids and families were facing. As a mother, and a grandmother I pressed for this bill to make sure the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters—which directly advises the Secretary of Health—must include parents, caregivers, and teachers as members.”

“Of course, in addition to all these common-sense steps to strengthen our public health system for future health emergencies, there is more work to do if we are to fully reckon with the lessons of this pandemic. Which is why Senator Burr and I worked with other members to include a bipartisan proposal for an independent task force—modeled after the 9/11 Commission—to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and issue recommendations.”

“While there is more to do to strengthen our public health system beyond these reforms—and I will keep pushing on this issue no matter what—the PREVENT Pandemics Act represents meaningful, bipartisan progress, carefully negotiated between Republicans and Democrats over nearly a year.”

“I should say, it also reflects Senator Burr’s longstanding focus on pandemic preparedness. This has been a life passion for him—even before the pandemic. His thoughtful expertise, and tireless work, have been critical to crafting a strong, bipartisan bill. I could not have asked for a better partner across the aisle to work with on this these past two years.”

“M. President, earlier this week, I listened to Senator Blunt’s farewell speech, and in his address to this body he said, ‘We don’t have to agree on everything, we just have to agree on one thing’”

“That’s how we help people and solve problems, M. President. And in our PREVENT Pandemics Act, Republicans and Democrats agree on a lot of things.”

“Families across the country are watching closely. Let’s show them we are taking the lessons of this pandemic seriously. Let’s show them we are taking action so we never go through a crisis like this again. Let’s make sure the PREVENT Pandemics Act is part of our end-of-year package. Thank you.”

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