ASTHO Statement on President-Elect Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan

January 15, 2021

ARLINGTON, VA—Michael Fraser, chief executive officer of ASTHO, issued the following statement about President-Elect Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan:

"As the COVID-19 pandemic rages throughout our country, killing thousands of Americans and wreaking havoc on our economy, it is critical that the federal government provide national leadership to bring this virus under control. State and territorial health officials applaud President-Elect Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan as a strong framework to achieve our overarching goal, which is to save American lives. We are pleased the proposal recognizes the critical need for additional resources for vaccine distribution, scaling up testing, expanding the public health workforce, and most importantly, addressing health disparities.

We look forward to working collaboratively with Congress and the incoming Biden Administration to achieve the public health goals set forth in this plan."

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.