Congressman Kim Calls White House Testing ‘Plan’ Insufficient to Reopen Economy

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) issued the following statement in response to the White House’s Testing Blueprint plan, which according to reports, would provide enough tests to allow states to screen at least 2 percent of residents while placing the burden on testing and contact tracing – two actions needed to reopen the economy – on states.

“This blueprint isn’t a plan to aggressively increase testing so we can reopen our economy, it’s the passing of the buck to our state and county officials who are already stretched to the limit,” said Congressman Kim. “This is a national crisis and we need national leadership. A month ago, I asked FEMA to step up and add the testing capacity we need for South Jersey. That request was shot down by the White House. The legislation we passed last week mandated the Administration to come up with a real plan to scale testing to a point where we can safely reopen our economy and put people back to work; I hope they take that effort seriously and look forward to seeing a real path to helping the people who need it most.”

One month ago today, Congressman Kim led a bipartisan effort to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency to open a third federally backed testing site in New Jersey, which was denied by the White House. The Congressman has continuously reiterated his calls for federal leadership on testing, including in a recent op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Nearly two months ago on March 6th, President Trump stated that, “Anybody that wants a test can get a test.” However, in an interview last week, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Anthony Fauci, stated that, “we are not in a situation where we can say we are exactly where we want to be with regard to testing.” In response, Congressman Kim voted last week to approve $25 billion in funds to improve testing capacity. The bill also requires the Administration to deliver a national testing plan within 30 days of the passage of the bill.

Additional information about Congressman Kim’s actions to contain the Coronavirus pandemic and address the ongoing economic impact can be found on his website by clicking here.

Congressman Kim is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Small Business. More information about Congressman Kim can be found on his website by clicking here.

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