Schumer Criticizes Trump Use Of DPA For Meatpacking Facilitates But Not For National Testing Strategy

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer today on a press call criticized President Trump for invoking the Defense Production Act to keep meatpacking facilities open but not using it to execute a national testing strategy. Earlier today, Leader Schumer and Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-IL) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) announced the Medical Supply Transparency and Delivery Act, which would federalize the medical supply chain, increase national production, and create an equitable and transparent process to deliver critical supplies.

“And here is the most amazing and confounding thing—President Trump yesterday announced he’s using DPA for meat packing plants, but he still hasn’t invoked the DPA for testing. Isn't that incredible? We are not going to be able to open our food facilities and so many other things unless we have testing. What is the reason he's willing to use the DPA for meatpacking plants, but not for testing? There is no good answer to that.

“Keeping these plants—meatpacking plants and others—open requires testing. That's what the workers and the owners will tell you. And yet he doesn't invoke DPA for testing, but invokes it for meatpacking. To safely get all Americans back to work, we need a national mobilization to increase PPE production and testing capabilities. You gotta do both. It's April 29th and we still don’t have a national testing strategy.” 

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