Letter to the Hon. Joe Biden, President of the United States - Reps. Stevens Sends Letter to President Biden Asking for More Direct Support for India

Letter

Dear President Biden,

May 10, 2021

As a representative of a large Indian-American community, I am extremely concerned about the deadly second COVID-19 wave in India. Many of my constituents have family members and loved ones in India who are sick or have recently passed away from COVID-19.

India is now the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. This past week India registered over 400,000 daily cases. On May 4, there were 3,786 deaths, bringing the total to 226,188 fatalities. The sharp increase in cases has severely strained the healthcare system, overwhelming hospitals, and depleting oxygen supplies. India is in great need of oxygen, therapeutics, and vaccines.

The U.S. and India have a historically strong partnership. For seventy years, U.S. public health experts from across the government, including USAID, HHS, CDC, FDA, and NIH, have worked in partnership with Indian officials to improve the health of India's most vulnerable communities and the well-being of its people. Over the last 20 years, U.S. foreign assistance to India has exceeded $2.8 billion, including more than $1.4 billion for health care. Just as India sent assistance to the United States when our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the United States must help India in its time of need.

I thank you for your support of more than $100 million to India to provide oxygen support, personal protective equipment (PPE), rapid diagnostic tests, and therapeutics. However, India still desperately requires additional assistance, most notably oxygen and oxygen production equipment. I urge you to provide the following items:

Oxygen Cylinders, 10 liters and 45 liters Liquid Medical Oxygen Capacity
Oxygen Concentrators
Oxygen Generator Plants
Remdesivir
Tocilizumab
Ventilators/BiPAP
I sincerely appreciate your recently announced plans to redirect the U.S. order of Astra Zeneca manufacturing supplies to India. I also understand that India is eager to domestically produce high-quality U.S. vaccines. I hope that you work with the private sector to assess how the U.S. can best advance cooperation in this regard.

As you continue to assess the situation in India, I urge you to consider fulfilling the additional needs outlined above. As long as COVID persists in India, there is the potential for additional variants that could pose a serious threat to a vaccinated America. We must do our part to quell the virus everywhere it persists.

Thank you again for your commitment to support India through this COVID crisis, and I look forward to continuing to work with you to advance the U.S.-India relationship.

Sincerely,

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