Washington, D.C. — Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) today sent a letter to Secretary Elaine Chao of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requesting information on how DOT plans to effectively prepare for the imminent arrival of a pandemic caused by coronavirus COVID-19 on U.S. soil.
“…the lack of effective Federal-led coordination and collaboration with industry in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak has become apparent over the last several weeks. U.S. airlines have expressed concern about the scope of CDC requests and expectations regarding airlines’ collection of certain inbound passenger data, and CDC officials have expressed concern about their ability to access information from the airlines. We therefore request that you provide, in writing, a detailed explanation of specific measures the Department is currently taking to work with airlines, airports, and other Federal departments and agencies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within the United States,” the Members wrote.
To read the full letter, click here.