Scott, Barrasso Send Letter to HHS Secretary Becerra on Transitioning from the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) joined Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and 24 Senate colleagues in urging Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to provide Congress, patients, and providers with additional insight on HHS’s plans for transitioning out of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The senators pointed out the inconsistencies in the administration’s public health response and urged greater transparency moving forward.

“As the American people return to normalcy, workers, families, frontline health care providers, and a range of other stakeholders need transparency and certainty regarding the path forward,” the senators wrote. “This unpredictable patchwork of mandates and questionable authorities will continue to erode the public’s confidence in government health agencies. For frontline health care providers and patients, the administration’s erratic approach to transitioning beyond a perpetual state of pandemic emergency could prove particularly problematic.”

The letter was also signed by Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Full text of the letter can be found here.

###