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WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko voted earlier this morning to pass H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which bolsters federal response to coronavirus to protect American’s health and safety and provide additional funding to address the economic impact caused by the pandemic. The bill includes a provision authored by Tonko and Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE) that increases access to critically needed N95 respirators for our frontline healthcare workers by adding NIOSH-certified respirators as a covered countermeasure for purposes of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act for the duration of the current coronavirus outbreak.

“Coronavirus continues to threaten every aspect of life, endangering American’s health and safety as well as creating widespread economic instability. Addressing this outbreak will require a whole of government response that prioritizes the well-being of our communities,” Congressman Tonko said. “Our legislation ensures testing will be available to families free of charge and gives workers the peace of mind to stay home when sick without fear of missing a paycheck. Also included in this legislation is a provision I authored to increase access to crucially needed N95 respirators for our frontline healthcare workers. I urge the swift passage of this bill to provide the health coverage, food assistance and financial support Americans need to address this public health emergency.”  

“I highly commend this action by Rep. Tonko as it is a vital measure to protect the American public and those in the medical field that will be asked to protect us all. N95 Respirators are essential personal protective equipment,” said Joseph Milot, President of Protective Industrial Products, Inc. (PIP).

Tonko’s provision was established based off his previous legislation H.R. 4982, the Health Care Workforce Protection Act that shifts liability from manufacturers to the federal government during a declared PREP Act emergency in which respirators are an essential part of the public health response. This provision helps ensure that manufacturers have the certainty they need to serve the market with N95 respirators during the current coronavirus crisis.

H.R. 6201 builds on an $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus spending package enacted into law last week that supports state and local health agencies, vaccine and treatment development, and loans for affected small businesses to lessen the economic blow of this public health emergency.

Among other measures, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act:

• Offers free testing for coronavirus, ensuring that all individuals, including those with private insurance, Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, VA, FEHBP and TRICARE, as well as the uninsured, will have access to tests at no cost.
• Paid emergency leave: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave. 
• Strengthens food assistance including more than $1 billion to provide nutritious foods to low-income pregnant women and mothers with young children, help local food banks, and provide home-delivered meals to seniors.
• Enhances unemployment aid, giving states the resources and flexibility to provide unemployment benefits to laid off and furloughed workers, as well as to those workers who exhaust their allotted paid leave.
• Safeguards Medicaid benefits, increasing the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) that the federal government provides to state and territorial Medicaid programs.
  

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