In response to the Trump Administration’s announcement that it would cease federal support for seven coronavirus testing centers in Texas, Senator John Cornyn has ramped up the pressure on the White House to keep that funding in place
“I know there’s concern, concern I share, over some of the statements being made about withdrawing federal support for coronavirus testing in Texas at the end of June,” Cornyn said. “It’s pretty clear to me, and I think it’s clear to all of us, that with the uptick of cases, now is not a time to retreat from our vigilance in testing. I believe that they need to extend that federal support in Texas, at least until we get this most recent uptick in cases addressed.”
A total of 13 testing sites nationwide will be impacted, most of which are in Texas. Those Texas sites are located in Houston, El Paso, and Dallas. Funding is slated to end on June 30.
On Wednesday, Cornyn also announced more funding for CommUnity Care Clinic in Austin, which was awarded $264,132 to improve telehealth resources. The funding was appropriated by Congress in March as part of the CARES Act.
“As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across Texas, it’s important that we in Washington do everything we can to make sure our health care professionals can meet this challenge head-on,” said Cornyn. “I applaud the Trump Administration for continuing to make telehealth in Austin an important priority.”
The funds will go toward computers, remote monitoring equipment, a telehealth platform subscription, and videoconferencing equipment and software to help test patients for COVID-19, to monitor patient glucose and blood pressure, and to enable telehealth visits and remote work for the clinical teams.
