WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) in calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to prioritize and quickly distribute the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to rural and underserved communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, funded in the recent year-end spending package, is intended to support testing, contact tracing, surveillance, containment and mitigation to monitor and suppress COVID-19.
“With the very concerning trends in rural America, additional resources are needed to ensure that health providers and health departments have the funding necessary to address the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote the senators. “This Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund set-aside should be distributed to support rural and underserved communities across the United States as quickly as possible. Not only is rural America experiencing higher rates of COVID-19, but rural communities are home to a greater percentage of older Americans, with 17.5% of the rural population being 65 years and older, compared to 13.8% in urban areas , and have higher rates of chronic illnesses.”
Senators Cramer and Manchin are joined on the letter by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Angus King (I-ME).