NEWS FROM THE SECOND DISTRICT
Dear Friend,
I returned to Washington, D.C. this weekend to put a stop to a misinformation campaign orchestrated by Speaker Pelosi and Democratic leadership against the President. Their latest attempt to undermine the Executive Branch is downright absurd. They’ve falsely led the public to believe that the U.S. Postal Service is ill-equipped to handle the influx of mail this Election. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
I’m disappointed that Speaker Pelosi saw it necessary to bring us back for something other than the relief you need during our current pandemic. We have families facing unemployment and pay cuts and children and teachers returning to school. Our time would have been better spent helping those who need financial relief and safety.
But this week has not been all bad. Operation Warp Speed is continuing to succeed. I’ve seen more advancements in science in the past few months than I have in my career as a medical professional. In addition, the number of people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has steadily dropped both nationally and regionally for the past two weeks. I’m proud of the work the Trump Administration is doing to combat COVID-19 and expedite vaccines and therapeutics. We have our best men and women on the job, and I’m positive that Operation Warp Speed will continue to pay off.
Please read about my week below:
My Week On Capitol HillCombatting Misinformation About USPS
Speaker Pelosi forced Members of Congress to travel back to the Capitol on Saturday to vote on a single bill that supports her Postal Service misinformation campaign against the President. Speaker Pelosi’s efforts not only wasted taxpayer dollars, but they added fuel to the radical, liberal agenda that is staining our Republic.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is already equipped with all the assets they need to ensure that every mail-in vote will be counted in the 2020 Election. USPS is financially troubled due to its long-term pension and health costs, but these are structural problems and completely unrelated to short term operational functions. They have stated that the USPS will be solvent and operational at least through August 2021. USPS has $14 billion cash on hand and, since April, has not requested any financial assistance to continue its operations although President Trump has proactively offered them over $10 billion if some unseen need arises.
The Postal Service is entirely capable of handling a relatively minor increase in mail volume ahead of the election and will in fact benefit from the associated revenue and relatively low costs of delivering more flat pieces of mail.
Watch the video I released on Saturday explaining the bill here.
Legislative Updates
Agriculture Committee
This week, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) announced that registration for the $380 million recovery funding program for Florida’s timber industry impacted by Hurricane Michael is now available.
To be eligible for the Timber Recovery Block Grant, a producer must be the owner of record or the lessee who has rights to the timber crop at the time of application of a minimum of 10 contiguous acres of nonindustrial private forest land located in one of the following Florida counties: Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton and Washington. Registration for the block grant is available here.
Additionally, the Florida Irrigation Recovery Block Grant Program is now available to agricultural producers who suffered damage to their crop and irrigation system as a result of Hurricane Michael. To be eligible for this program, a producer must be the owner of record of center pivot irrigation infrastructure at the time of application and document that the crop growing under the center pivot as of October 10, 2018, sustained a minimum 15 percent crop loss due to Hurricane Michael.
The deadline to register for these programs is Friday, November 20.
FDEM will be conducting community outreach to ensure timber producers have the information they need to apply. Additionally, producers can email questions to timber@em.myflorida.com.
For more information about the Timber Recovery Block Grant, visit https://floridadisaster.org/timber. For more information about the Florida Irrigation Recovery Block Grant Program, visit https://floridadisaster.org/irrigation.
Coronavirus UpdatesOperation Warp Speed
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced that the McKesson Corporation will be a central distributor of future COVID-19 vaccines and related supplies needed to administer the pandemic vaccinations. The CDC is executing an existing contract option with McKesson to support vaccine distribution. The company also distributed the H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009-2010. The current contract with McKesson, awarded as part of a competitive bidding process in 2016, includes an option for the distribution of vaccines in the event of a pandemic. Detailed planning is underway to ensure rapid distribution as soon as the FDA authorizes one or more vaccines. Once these decisions are made, McKesson will work under CDC’s guidance to ship COVID-19 vaccines to administration sites.
Recent Updates
- The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has released a temporary industry guide entitled, “Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Drug and Biological Product Inspections During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Questions and Answers.” The FDA recognizes the COVID-19 pandemic is not only impacting public health, but also drug development programs, ongoing manufacturing operations, and the FDA’s ability to conduct inspections. The questions and answers in the guidance provide information regarding inspections for facilities that manufacture pharmaceutical products and sites involved in the conduct of clinical, analytical, and nonclinical studies.
- FDA, in partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), developed the Employee Health and Food Safety Checklist for Human and Animal Food Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The checklist will assist the food industry with operational changes it may have as a result of COVID-19. The checklist pulls guidance from the FDA, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, and OSHA; and serves as a quick reference in the areas of employee health, social distancing, and food safety for food operations that have been impacted during the pandemic.
- Nationally, levels of influenza-like illness (ILI) are below baseline but higher than typically seen at this time of year. Indicators that track ILI and COVID-19-like illness (CLI) and the percentage of laboratory tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 have continued to decrease nationally since mid-July. In the South East region, the number of people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has decreased in the last two weeks. Click here for more updates from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
This week, the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office teamed up with OneBlood to host its first convalescent blood drive. The goal was to reach 26 donors and they well exceeded that. Sheriff John Tate says this was the first of many blood drives, and that the Sheriff’s Office will hold another in a few months. Thank you to the hardworking team at the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office and thank you to all the generous donors! Click here for the full story.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in Congress!
Sincerely,
Dr. Neal Dunn
Member of Congress
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Constituent Casework Corner
A constituent contacted my office after the Small Business Administration (SBA) made numerous clerical errors to their loan file. This caused them to refuse to endorse an insurance check that was sent to the constituent for Hurricane Michael damage. They claimed it was a duplication of benefits and placed a lien on the constituent’s home. After my office filed our first inquiry, the SBA responded stating that the initial findings were correct. However, after my office filed a second inquiry requesting the situation be escalated and re-reviewed, the SBA determined mistakes had been made on their part. The constituent’s file was corrected, the insurance check was endorsed, and the lien was removed.
Do you need help with a federal agency? Contact my office at 850-785-0812 or at www.dunn.house.gov
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