Reps. Omar, Pressley Introduce Long COVID Moonshot Bill
WASHINGTON– Today, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (MN-05) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced the Long Covid Research Moonshot Act which would provide the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with $1 billion in mandatory funding per year for a decade to support studies, the pursuit of treatments, and the expansion of care for U.S. patients impacted by the condition. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced companion legislation last month.
“For far too long, millions of Americans suffering from long Covid have had their symptoms dismissed or ignored—by the medical community, by the media, and by Congress,” said Sanders, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). “That is unacceptable and has got to change. The legislation that we have introduced finally recognizes that long Covid is a public health emergency and provides an historic investment into research, development, and education needed to counter the effects of this terrible disease.”
“Long COVID is a silent health crisis impacting over twenty-three million Americans, including one million children,” said Rep. Omar. “We must take bold action to help Americans suffering from long COVID. I’m proud to lead this effort in the House with Rep. Pressley to recognize long COVID as the public health emergency that it is and invest in countering the effects of this terrible disease.”
"Those experiencing Long COVID have been facing their challenges unheard for far too long, and they deserve a robust federal response that demonstrates that we see them, we have not forgotten about them, and we will not stop fighting to get them the care they need and deserve," said Congresswoman Pressley. "Our bill builds on previous legislation to invest the resources necessary to confront this crisis head-on and it will help ensure that no one is left out or left behind in our pandemic recovery. I'm grateful to Rep. Omar and our colleagues for their partnership."
The Long Covid Research Moonshot Act is cosponsored by Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Eleanor Holmes (DC), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Raul Grijalva (AZ-07) , Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Cori Bush (MO-01), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Barbara Lee (CA-12) , James P. McGovern (MA-02), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10).
You can read the full legislation here.
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