WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) released the following statement after Senate passage of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (Senate Amendment to H.R. 266), which included aspects of Congresswoman Pressley’s Equitable Data Collection and Disclosure on COVID-19 Act:

“The inclusion of key aspects of our Equitable Data Collection and Disclosure on COVID-19 Act is a meaningful step forward. This will save lives. We now must work to ensure that the CDC is transparent in their data collection and reporting, and that the data is being used to effectively and efficiently get testing, treatment, and other economic resources and support to those communities most in need.”

“This is a crucial step forward, but our work is far from over. I’m grateful for the partnership of my sisters in service Reps. Robin Kelly, Karen Bass, Barbara Lee, and Senator Elizabeth Warren for their fierce advocacy and leadership in this fight, and I’ll continue to work with them and our partners in government and in community to affirm the right to health and safety for every person in our country.”

In April, Congresswoman Pressley introduced the Equitable Data Collection and Disclosure on COVID-19 Act, legislation to require the CDC and other HHS sub-agencies to collect and release racial and other demographic data on COVID-19, along with Congresswomen Robin Kelly (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Karen Bass (D-CA), and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). In March, Congresswoman Pressley and Senator Warren sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar urging HHS and the CDC to collect and publicly release racial and demographic data on COVID-19 in order to identify and address racial disparities in the response.

The inclusion of this bill text in the latest relief package follows an announcement on Friday, April 17^th that the CDC planned to enact key tenets of the bill.

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