White House launches new pandemic response office created by Murray’s PREVENT Pandemics Act
ICYMI: Senate Passes Murray-Burr PREVENT Pandemics Act – MORE HERE
Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), who negotiated, drafted, and secured passage of the PREVENT Pandemics Act into law last December, released the following statement in response to the White House announcing it is launching the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response—which was created by Murray’s legislation to lead and coordinate an all-of-government response to address public health threats. The White House also announced Major General Paul Fredrichs will lead the new office.
“I’m glad to see my bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act being put into action so our nation is better prepared for the next threat like COVID. I worked hard to write and pass this legislation, because it was painfully clear to me our nation was not ready for a crisis like COVID, and I think it’s painfully clear to everyone we cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes.
“If we are going to keep families safe and communities supported during future health crises, we need to have a team in place, ready to go 24/7 to serve as mission control and coordinate an all-of-government response to pandemic threats. That’s why the bill I wrote with former Senator Burr established the new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response, and I’m glad the White House is launching this critical office today and announcing the excellent selection of Major General Paul Fredrichs to lead it. This is important forward progress, and I am going to continue following closely to ensure my PREVENT Pandemics Act is implemented effectively and lives up to its name.”
As a leader on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee during the COVID pandemic, Senator Murray was a voice for oversight and accountability throughout the U.S. response—holding a series of hearings with key leaders on the U.S. COVID response, and working with former Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) to draft bipartisan legislation focused on enacting lessons learned from missteps in the pandemic response. Last year, Congress passed the legislation they drafted through this effort, the PREVENT Pandemics Act, into law. The law establishes the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response within the White House. Earlier this month, as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray also worked to ensure the new office is fully funded in the Senate’s relevant draft funding bill, which was passed out of Committee in a unanimous vote.
Read more about the PREVENT Pandemics Act HERE.
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