HOUSTON – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat representing the 18th Congressional District of Texas, called on the federal government -- citing the Presidential Emergency Declaration on COVID-19 -- to intervene immediately with resources to help combat COVID-19 in Texas.
“We are at the top level of a hurricane five,” said the Congresswoman at a news conference on the first floor of the George Thomas Mickey Leland Federal Building. “The federal government needs to come into Texas.”
Jackson Lee called what’s happening in Texas an “unattended crisis.”
“The public health system needs more nurses, they are opening up a mass unit. The private hospital system, as I indicated, is closing emergency rooms,” she said.
Earlier this week, Gov. Abbot announced a series of actions that the Texas Department of State Health Services is taking to mitigate the recent rise in cases.
One action includes working to bring in more than 2,500 medical professionals to help strained hospitals. Another is to open additional COVID-19 antibody infusion centers in communities across the state.
Lee said she is appalled by the actions of Gov. Greg Abbott for “blocking school districts from taking basic COVID-19 protection measures to protect children and staff.”
“He needs to be pushing the mandate that everyone gets masks in school. He needs to be pushing that he is seeking the help of the President of the United States and the COVID-19 team,” said Jackson Lee.
The Governor sent out the following tweet on Wednesday:
“Any school district, public university, or local government official that decides to defy GA-38—which prohibits gov’t entities from mandating masks—will be taken to court. The path forward relies on personal responsibility—not government mandates.”
KPRC 2 has requested live interviews with Gov. Abbott almost daily for the past two weeks, but our requests have been declined.
Watch the full news conference below: