Kaine Statement on End of COVID Public Health Emergency
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the end of the public health emergency for COVID-19, which was declared on January 31, 2020:
“The past three years of COVID have brought incredible loss and economic uncertainty, but thanks to federal relief we passed in Congress and the strength and resiliency of the American people, we’ve been able to get back to work and school and reconnect with loved ones. As the public health emergency comes to an end, and we enter the next phase of recovery, we must build on the progress we’ve made and take the lessons of the past few years to continue to move our country forward. I’m going to continue pushing for legislation to support our workforce, improve our health care systems, and strengthen our economy. And as Title 42 ends today, I’ll also continue to push for more resources to secure our southern border and allow asylum cases to be heard, as well as advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that strengthens border security, targets smugglers and traffickers, provides an orderly path for legal immigration, addresses the root causes of migration, and creates a path to citizenship for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and other immigrants with long ties to the U.S. and Virginia.”
Senator Kaine is focused on various solutions to build on the progress made to recover from COVID. To boost the economy and create jobs:
- Kaine is focused on lowering taxes for the middle class, including by reinstating the expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit.
- He’s pushing to raise the federal minimum wage.
- Kaine is pushing to pass his JOBS Act, legislation that would help more Americans get good-paying jobs by allowing students to use federal Pell Grants to afford high-quality, short-term job training programs.
To support the workforce:
- Kaine is championing legislation to tackle the child care crisis and help parents get back to work, including by introducing the Child Care for Working Families Act to lower child care costs, increase wages for child care providers, and expand access to pre-kindergarten.
- He will soon reintroduce his bipartisan Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals (PREP) Act, legislation to address teacher and principal shortages, particularly in rural communities, and to increase teacher diversity.
To strengthen health care systems:
- Kaine is pushing to expand access to health care by passing his Medicare-X Choice Act, legislation he’ll reintroduce to create a low-cost public option for health insurance for families, individuals, and small businesses.
- He’s reintroduced his CARE for Long COVID Act to accelerate research of Long COVID and provide resources to those living with Long COVID.
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