Letter to Peter Gaynor, Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency - Hastings and Buchanan Lead Florida Delegation Letter Supporting FL Gov. DeSantis's and FDEM Dir. Moskowitz's Request for Additional Resources to Combat COVID-19

Letter

Dear Administrator Gaynor:

As Members of the bipartisan Florida Congressional Delegation, we write to express our support for the request for immediate delivery of additional resources to combat COVID-19 as recently announced by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) Director Jared Moskowitz.

Florida has been uniquely vulnerable to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, as it serves as a high-volume ingress point for foreign and domestic travelers and is home to the largest 65 and over population in the nation. These realities have created conditions that have contributed to the rapid spread of the disease throughout Florida, especially in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties which have almost half of the 520 cases reported in the entire state.[1]

Our hospitals, doctors, and first responders require immediate, emergency supplies to respond to COVID-19. We echo the Direct Federal Assistance request made by Governor DeSantis and FDEM Director Moskowitz:

5 mobile intensive care units
5,000 ventilators
5,000 hospital beds
50,000 two oz. bottles of hand sanitizer
250,000 coveralls
500,000 gloves
500,000 gowns
500,000 collection kits
100,000 16 oz. bottles of hand sanitizer
150,000 Personal Protective Equipment kits, including coveralls, gowns, and goggles
2 million N95 face masks
Providing these essential supplies to our medical teams on the frontlines of the outbreak will ensure adequate response to the evolving conditions they face as we test for and treat new cases of COVID-19 and will support their efforts in mitigating and containing the spread of the virus in Florida.

We ask that you give full and fair consideration to the State of Florida's request. We look forward to working with you as we all come together to mitigate the effects of the current crisis.

[1] As of 4:15PM on Friday, March 20, 2020, per the Florida Department of Health's COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.

Sincerely,

Alcee L. Hastings
Member of Congress

Vern Buchanan
Member of Congress

Michael Waltz
Member of Congress

Donna E. Shalala
Member of Congress

Bill Posey
Member of Congress

Stephanie Murphy
Member of Congress

Matt Gaetz
Member of Congress

Ross Spano
Member of Congress

Darren Soto
Member of Congress

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Member of Congress

Brian Mast
Member of Congress

W. Gregory Steube
Member of Congress

John H. Rutherford
Member of Congress

Neal P. Dunn, M.D.
Member of Congress

Mario Diaz-Balart
Member of Congress

Ted Deutch
Member of Congress

Gus M. Bilirakis
Member of Congress

Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Member of Congress

Charlie Crist
Member of Congress

Francis Rooney
Member of Congress

Val B. Demings
Member of Congress

Cc: U.S. Vice President Michael R. Pence

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Congressman Alcee L. Hastings serves as Vice-Chairman of the House Rules Committee, Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and Co-Chairman of the Florida Delegation.