Mayors to President Trump: Help Us Secure Critical Covid-19 Emergency Equipment

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Mar 28, 2020, 15:10 ET

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump asking for help in securing critical supplies and equipment needed to safeguard first responders and healthcare workers in cities across the country.

The letter was sent because a new survey released by the Conference revealed the alarming extent of the shortage of COVID-19 emergency equipment. Mayors representing 213 cities from 41 states and Puerto Rico reported on the availability of test kits, face masks, ventilators and other personal protective equipment. The survey made clear that the shortage of such essential items has reached crisis proportions and that the safety of city residents, healthcare workers, first responders and other city workers is being seriously compromised.

The letter reads in part:

"We are sending our survey report to you because it demonstrates that, unless the federal government does everything in its power to help us safeguard our first responders and health care workers – our first line of defense – and the millions of other public servants in our cities whose work today puts them at risk, this life threatening crisis will continue. The three supplemental appropriations measures that have been enacted will provide us with badly needed financial assistance. We need help, however, in securing needed supplies and equipment and know that it is only the federal government, through your leadership, that can make that happen."

The full text of the letter can be found here.

About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors