Diaz-Balart, Murphy Lead Bipartisan Group of Florida Members of Congress Requesting Governor DeSantis to Brief Delegation on COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Today, U.S. Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-25) and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL-7), along with 12 other members of the Florida congressional delegation, asked Governor Ron DeSantis to provide a bipartisan briefing to the Florida congressional delegation regarding the COVID-19 vaccination process and distribution in the state.
"We are eager to learn more and believe a briefing from you, or your designee, would enable us to respond to those constituent inquiries, conduct oversight of the vaccination process, and better advocate for the federal government to provide additional technical or other assistance where appropriate and necessary for smooth distribution. All of us share your goal of making the vaccination process in Florida as swift and effective as possible in order to save lives, "wrote Diaz-Balart and the other Florida Members of Congress.
The letter was signed by Diaz-Balart, Murphy and Florida Reps. Gus M. Bilirakis, Kathy Castor, Charlie Crist, Val Demings, Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel, Carlos A. Giménez, Alcee L. Hastings, Al Lawson, Jr., María Elvira Salazar, Darren Soto, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
The Honorable Ron DeSantis
Governor of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Dear Governor DeSantis:
We write to respectfully request a virtual briefing for Members of the Florida congressional delegation regarding the COVID-19 vaccination process in the state, to be held as soon as feasible.
We are receiving constituent inquiries regarding this process, including questions about the order in which individuals will be given the vaccine; the expected timeline for vaccinations; the locations at which individuals in different parts of the state can obtain their vaccine; the respective roles of the state government, county governments, hospitals, physicians, and other stakeholders in the health care system; and whether the process will vary in any respect based on the type of health insurance an individual has (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance) or if they do not have health insurance at all.
We are eager to learn more and believe a briefing from you, or your designee, would enable us to respond to those constituent inquiries, conduct oversight of the vaccination process, and better advocate for the federal government to provide additional technical or other assistance where appropriate and necessary for smooth distribution. All of us share your goal of making the vaccination process in Florida as swift and effective as possible in order to save lives.
Sincerely,