Clark Invites Lexington Health Official to State of the Union

Clark discussed with public health officials how resources from the federal American Rescue Plan helped to keep communities safe and COVID-19 contained

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Katherine Clark (MA-5) invited public health officials from across Massachusetts’ Fifth District as her virtual guests to the State of the Union address on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. She met virtually with her guests ahead of President Biden’s address to thank them for their selfless work throughout the pandemic and discuss how the American Rescue Plan’s investments in local government, COVID-19 mitigation, and public health generally helped to keep their communities protected and safe.

“Throughout the pandemic, our incredible town and city public health officials have continued to put community before self, risking their own health to protect their neighbors from COVID-19. This is an opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to these officials and all our health care heroes,” said Assistant Speaker Clark. “President Biden and Congressional Democrats knew that these local officials would be on the frontlines of the crisis, and that’s why we put health care investments at the top of our agenda in Washington. Only weeks after President Biden was sworn into office, we enacted the American Rescue Plan. It has enabled our cities and towns to provide COVID-19 testing and conduct contact tracing, allowed state and local governments to hire more staff, provided vital PPE, and so much more. I am honored to invite these hometown heroes to be my virtual guests to the State of the Union to applaud their service and bring attention to their sacrifices.”

“The pandemic has shone a spotlight on public health and what we do. It has also fostered partnerships that have helped us better serve the community – including between the local and federal government,” Joanne Belanger, Director of Public Health for the town of Lexington. “I hope that Congress continues to invest in our public health departments and services, and in our cities and town. Local public health officials are here and we're dedicated, and we're going to continue to work for the Commonwealth.”

The American Rescue Plan provided:

• $350 billion to states, territories, Tribes, and local governments:
• MA received a total of $8.1 billion: $4.5 billion to state government and $3.6 billion to local governments
• Funds could be used for responding to the public health emergency, to offset revenue losses, bolster economic recovery, and provide premium pay for essential workers.
• $10 billion for a Critical Infrastructure Projects program to help states, territories, and Tribal governments carry out critical capital projects directly enabling work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to COVID-19.
• $7.6 billion for public health departments to hire 100,000 full-time employees into the public health workforce.
• These positions include contact tracers, social support specialists, community health workers, public health nurses, epidemiologists, lab personnel, and communications.
• Funds were directed toward PPE, technology, data management, supplies, and reporting.

A photo from the virtual meeting can be found attached.

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