In a press call last week Senator Tester explained his vote in support of the CARES Act, the federal government’s $2.2 trillion package designed to lessen the impacts of the unprecedented impact on the economy by the COVID-19 emergency disaster.
“It’s far from perfect,” said Tester. “It does too much for the big corporations and not enough for hard working Montanans. It adds every dollar in it to our national debt. But I voted for it because Montana families and small businesses, health care workers and working folks and many others cannot wait for the critical relief that it will provide.” He said with trillions of dollars involved, the administration has to be held accountable with strict and aggressive oversight to make sure the relief is going to the families and small businesses that need it.
To ensure that accountability, Tester and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called on the President to provide for a Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery at Treasury that is fully independent and able to exercise his power to identify and prevent any waste fraud or abuse.
Tester claims now that his fears seem to have been justified as the Administration took the drastic step of removing the Chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability committee, the Inspector General.
“This is deeply troubling,” said Tester. “Anything less than absolute transparency about how spending $2.2 trillion in taxpayer money goes is unacceptable. That’s the way it’s been in past bail-outs and that’s how it has to be in this one.” He called it an attack on the checks and balances that assures accountability to the people and said, “We need to move forward immediately and address shortcomings in this and the Paycheck Protection Program.”
Tester said that there was some talk in the Senate about another COVID-19 funding package and that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell just took one to the Senate that he had written.
“But the fact is that this package is just starting to get out the door,” said Tester. “We are just getting the rules down about how this will actually get out the door and meet the needs of this country.” He said that work needed to be done before the next plan was adopted.
Both Tester and U.S. Senator Steve Daines have been working hard to get needed funds and equipment to combat the epidemic in Montana and both recently claimed success for getting a significant number of face masks delivered as well as taking credit for the $111.5 million for Montana’s Provider Relief Fund, which will be distributed among 1,469 providers and systems across the state.
In March, the Administration committed to send 79,486 masks to the state, and then delivered only 10,870—a staggering shortfall that Tester and Daines both clamored to have addressed.
Tester said that FEMA told him that the facemasks were already received in Montana but when he checked those sources they all denied having received anything. After chains were rattled, the issue was finally addressed and 68,000 masks have been received. It is still far short of the estimated 420,000 in Montana’s statement of need.
Tester said, “The truth is, we continue to have a staggering shortfall in personal protective equipment—equipment the federal government has a responsibility to provide through its vast resources, including the Strategic National Stockpile, and I’ll be keeping my foot on the gas to get these critically-needed supplies to Montana.”
Tester noted that Montana has received insufficient support from the Administration’s Strategic National Stockpile, and once again implored the Administration to make full use of the Defense Production Act. And he reiterated his call for the Administration to further activate the VA’s Fourth Mission to serve as the backup health care provider for the nation in times of national emergency.
The $111.5 million Provider Relief Fund is the first allocation from the $100 billion Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund allocated by the CARES Act specifically for hospitals and health care providers. This fund, which Tester fought to secure through 72 hours of bipartisan negotiations, is intended to cover non-reimbursable expenses attributable to the coronavirus pandemic. All health care entities that provide treatment, diagnoses or testing are eligible for funding, and 1,469 of Montana’s providers and systems will receive funds.
“This is about ensuring we have the critical resources needed to provide our hospitals and healthcare professionals on the front lines the tools they need to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,” Daines said. “It is one of my top priorities to protect public health and I will continue working to support our hospitals and healthcare professionals as they work to keep us safe and healthy.”
“I have said from day one that we need to give Montana’s brave providers and health care professionals every resource available to win the fight against this virus,” said Tester. “These funds will go a long way toward shoring up our hospitals and keeping Montanans across our state healthy and safe, and I am going to keep fighting to make sure our health care providers, particularly in rural areas, get the support they need to get the job done.”
Last week, Congress also approved $9.1 million for Montana Community Health Centers to respond to the pandemic, and an additional $3 million for the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council Public Health Workforce Expansion in Indian Country. Daines recently demanded that the Trump Administration not leave rural hospitals behind in their coronavirus response, and he voted to deliver critical, urgent relief to Montana hospitals, workers, families, small businesses, and others hardest hit by the outbreak, which included $1.25 billion for the state of Montana.
The Senators also announced a $411,135 grant to help Montana’s hospitals prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
The grant will help fund the Montana Health Research and Education Foundation and is administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Hospital Preparedness Program, which works to make sure hospitals and health care coalitions are better prepared to respond to emergencies.
Tester and Daines urged Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to guarantee that a portion of a $100 billion Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund will go towards reimbursing rural providers for health care-related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to COVID-19.
“Without intervention, COVID-19 will close hundreds of rural hospitals across the country, and tens of thousands of rural patients will lose access to their nearest emergency room,” wrote the Senators in a letter to HHS. “The loss of revenue over the last few weeks, due to the inability to provide non-emergency care, is destabilizing core health services in rural America… We share significant concerns that the $100 billion provider fund will not be equitably distributed to small rural hospitals, critical access hospitals and other rural providers who are in grave need of help.”
The funding for the $100 billion Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund was allocated through the CARES Act. The Senators are working to ensure that an equitable portion of this funding goes to rural hospitals that are already struggling to keep their doors open.
Nearly one in five Americans live in rural areas and rely on local hospitals for care. Prior to the pandemic, nearly half of rural hospitals were already struggling to maintain services, many even operating at a loss as closure rates of these frontier facilities was increasing radically nationwide. Cash shortages due to the COVID-19 crisis have left many of these already vulnerable hospitals no choice but to furlough staff, institute massive cuts, or close altogether.