Topic of discussion was re-opening the economy after COVID-19 required everyone to social distance and shelter in place.

Republican calls for the House of Representatives to reconvene continue to mount after the Senate returned amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy yesterday outlined his vision for how the lower house of congress could get back to work, suggesting a phased plan beginning with committees meeting first.

The Senate congregated on Monday, despite stay-at-home measures prompted by COVID-19 remaining in place in Washington, D.C., prompting questions of the House of Representatives.

Lee Zeldin (R-NY) joined the calls for a return, referencing key workers who have been going about their duties despite the outbreak while stating the House should similarly be fulfilling its functions.

"The House of Representatives should be in DC at work right now. There is so much so wrong with the House being AWOL like this," he tweeted. "Health care workers, cops, truckers, farmers, grocery story workers & many others NEVER stopped working. It's time for the House to report back for duty!"

Michael Burgess (R-TX) similarly cited those who have worked throughout lockdowns.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. The House of Representatives has to get back to Washington," he tweeted. "If health care workers, cashiers, and other Americans can return to work, so can we."

Outlining his ideas, McCarthy said his letter, co-written with ranking Republicans Tom Cole (R-OK) and Rodney Davis (R-IL), was "not partisan." He called for some committees to return now, with them held in larger rooms with social distancing.

On Congress returning, he spoke of voting being done in "segments" so those involved can remain distanced, while he also suggested equipment such as plexiglass dividers in "high-trafficked areas."

McCarthy also made the link to key workers, tweeting: "If doctors, dispatchers, and delivery drivers can work, then so can America's representatives."

Greg Walden (R-OR), Republican leader on Energy and Commerce, and Morgan Griffith (R-VA) welcomed the call for committees to begin sitting once again.

"During these unprecedented times, we must be mindful of any precedent we set," they said in a joint statement. "We agree key committees of jurisdiction must explore new ways to meet and conduct business."

As the Senate reconvened, the House had been due to do the same, though this decision was reversed due to safety concerns.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) previously suggested a return is likely in the week commencing May 11.

It comes after she and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell turned down an offer from the Trump administration for congress to be provided with rapid testing for those returning to Capitol Hill. The pair insisted such resources should be directed to "front-line facilities where they can do the most good the most quickly."

Though the Senate has returned, measures have been put in place to limit the risks associated with the move. Those in attendance are asked to distance from each other by six feet, while there has also been guidance on wearing face masks when possible.

McConnell, in a statement outlining the Senate return, described the need to conduct "critical business."

"All across our nation, American workers in essential sectors are following expert advice and taking new precautions while they continue reporting for duty and performing irreplaceable work their country needs," he said.

The U.S. Senate returns to work Monday, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is keeping her members home.

Congressman Dan Crenshaw called the Speaker's decision a cowardly act.

“The Senate is going back to work and thank God we have them doing that. The House needs to the same. This is cowardly to the core,” the Houston Republican told Fox News. “I honestly cannot even believe it. This is such a lack of leadership.”

“You can exert the same kind of risk mitigation measures that everybody else across America is doing, yet Nancy Pelosi refuses to do that.”

If Democrats want to work from home, they should find a job where they can do that.

Otherwise, Nancy Pelosi should find some courage, show some leadership, and bring the House back to Washington.

We’ve made ample modifications to keep members safe.

No excuses. Duty.

Dallas-area Congressman Michael Burgess is a former OBGYN.

“We're asking everybody else to show up. We're asking of our grocery store clerks, of our medical personnel. We've got work to do too. And we should be on about getting it done.”

“Everybody knows senators are characteristically older and slower than we are in the House. Perhaps their population is little more at risk. If they're able to do this, we should be as well.”

Published here.

Hundreds of millions in federal relief is flowing into Denton County to stem the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

But getting a handle on exactly how much is coming from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to Denton County and where it’s going has proved elusive. Aides in Congressman Michael Burgess’s office said late last week they were still searching for a tool with the tally.

Some of the largest known allocations went to Denton County, the Denton County Transportation Authority and the county’s colleges and universities.

According to aides for Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, Texas received $11.2 billion received from the CARES Act. Of that total, 45% was headed to local governments. Eighteen jurisdictions with a population of 500,000 or more received a wire transfer directly from the U.S. Treasury two weeks ago. Denton County, population 861,000, received $147 million.

The allocations were based on a formula from 2019 census estimates. By comparison, aides said, Tarrant County and the city of Fort Worth each received $209 million. Last week, the city of Dallas announced local relief programs funded by its CARES allocation.

Denton County Judge Andy Eads said county commissioners already approved about $735,000 to Denton-area nonprofits responding to the crisis, including $260,000 to the United Way of Denton County for rental assistance.

Other programs are still in the works, Eads said, adding that the federal government prohibits the county from using the money to make up for revenue losses.

In other words, taxpayers may not get much relief from the budget shortfalls that come from lower sales tax revenue at either the local or state level.

State officials are wrestling with shortfalls, too. Nelson has been appointed to the Senate Work Group on Economic Impact and Budgeting. Aides in Nelson’s office expect another round of CARES funding going to smaller counties, but federal guidance for that is still coming.

Another $23.4 million in CARES funding goes to the Denton County Transportation Authority from a special allocation just for transit agencies. Unlike the county’s wire transfer, however, DCTA will be reimbursed for both capital expenditures and costs related to the pandemic.

In a news release, agency officials said they expected the allocation will fill the gap created by decreased sales tax revenue. More than half of DCTA’s annual $45 million budget comes from sales tax collected in Denton, Highland Village and Lewisville.

“This aid reflects how public transit provides a critical lifeline for many communities in Denton County and across the nation,” DCTA CEO Raymond Suarez said in a prepared statement.

The agency has cut some bus routes as ridership plummeted, but a crew is still driving Monday through Saturday. Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents the drivers, has requested protective equipment, passenger limits and hazard pay as consideration for being on the front lines in the pandemic. Transit drivers around the country have contracted the virus, and at least three dozen have died.

Nicole Recker, vice president of North Texas Mobility Corp., DCTA’s subsidiary that runs the bus system, said that they are reviewing the request and “working through the proper channels to respond accordingly.”

Denton Mayor Chris Watts, who serves on the DCTA board, said the board has not discussed how the money will be allocated.

The University of North Texas, Texas Woman’s University and North Central Texas College are also receiving CARES funding based on their student populations.

UNT will receive $29 million, half to cover costs and losses associated with the pandemic and the other half for direct student aid. TWU also expects to divide its $8.9 million allocation the same way.

Few of TWU's expenses are eligible for CARES, according to Matt Flores, a university spokesperson.

“The eligible expenses for the university are for items to assist students in their online education pursuits, e.g., loaner laptops, increased licenses,” Flores wrote in an email. “Other than that, it is to offset expenses the students incurred — housing and dining refunds, or to offset costs of services they can’t use anymore, such as the [recreation centers].”

North Central Texas College is expected to receive $3.9 million in CARES funding.

Other big checks will also come to local governments as reimbursements from federal disaster funds or from program waivers. In program waivers, long-standing federal programs get retooled but essentially pay for the same thing. For example, Denton ISD should be reimbursed for preparing and distributing meals that used to feed kids twice a day on campus. Since schools were closed, the district has distributed about 85,000 meal sets (breakfast and lunch) each week, at a cost of about a half-million dollars each round.

Some of the largest chunks of federal relief are coming to individuals and families one check at a time, like the $1,200 stimulus checks many people received last month — money that isn’t really tracked the same as other allocations.

Yet the Texas Workforce Commission has determined about 31,000 workers in Denton County were eligible to receive unemployment benefits last month. If each worker also receives a $600 weekly benefit from CARES Act, that’s another $19 million flowing into Denton County each week.

Similarly, about $21 billion in Payroll Protection Program loans were approved in Texas during the program’s first round, which could mean tens of millions more in CARES funding for Denton County. A widely cited report contains few details about where those loans landed.

After adding more money to help small business funds that came up short, some leaders in Congress say they want to wait and see how the stimulus performs before allocating more aid to the crisis.

Other leaders said relief for local governments, which have also been hit hard by the pandemic, was in the works.

The CARES Act was originally estimated to cost $2.2 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office has since revised the estimate down, to $1.76 trillion.

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee and Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, held a bipartisan teleconference forum with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, M.D.

“I appreciate that the Energy and Commerce Subcommittees on Health and Oversight and Investigations were able to hold a bipartisan briefing with CDC to discuss critical issues surrounding COVID-19,” said Burgess. 

“Racial disparities in COVID-19 have been covered comprehensively in the news in the past few weeks. There have been a number of articles published in my home state of Texas focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on African Americans and Hispanics and those with underlying health conditions.

“I am grateful for Dr. Schuchat’s time and her insight into how the CDC is monitoring this topic and engaging with medical professionals and communities to raise awareness. 

“I look forward to conducting more of these calls so that Congress can continue its oversight work as the country works to defeat this invisible enemy.”