U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) joined a bipartisan delegation of Ohio congressional lawmakers in seeking the immediate availability of more than $3 billion in federal funds for the research, development and review of products and treatments to help Americans suffering from COVID-19.
Authorized in the bipartisan supplemental funding package to support COVID-19 preparedness and response efforts, Rep. Joyce and his colleagues also encouraged the White House Coronavirus Task Force to ensure that the funding includes a strategic effort to develop a variety of treatment options for COVID-19 and its related complications, particularly for individuals who are most vulnerable to the virus, according to the March 20 letter the lawmakers sent to Vice President Mike Pence and Deborah Birx, Coronavirus Response Coordinator at the U.S. State Department.
“I was proud to join my fellow Buckeyes in Congress on both sides of the aisle in sending this letter,” Rep. Joyce said on Monday.
Their letter highlighted Ohio’s biopharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors and pointed to the state as a prime location for scaling-up research and production of treatments and medical equipment.
“In Ohio, we know a thing or two about what the American biopharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors can accomplish,” said Rep. Joyce. “We look forward to working with the White House Coronavirus Task Force and others in the administration to ensure that the federal government is effectively leveraging resources and working with the biopharmaceutical and manufacturing partners, both in Ohio and across the country, prepared to step up and help us combat COVID-19.”
Among the members who joined Rep. Joyce in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and U.S. Reps. Mike Turner (R-OH), Bob Latta (R-OH), Steve Stivers (R-OH), and Troy Balderson (R-OH).
“The sooner we can develop effective treatment options for those most vulnerable to these complications – including the elderly, the infirmed, those who are immunocompromised, and others – the sooner we can curb the death rate associated with COVID-19,” wrote Rep. Joyce and his colleagues.
The lawmakers also wrote that they’ve seen first-hand “what our Ohio-based biopharmaceutical sector and manufacturing can accomplish, and we look forward to working with you to ensure that the federal government is effectively leveraging resources and partners both in Ohio and across the country that are ready to step up and address COVID-19 and its related complications.”