May 21, 2020

The Honorable Matt Hall

Chairman
Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic
N-997 Anderson House Office Building
Lansing, MI 48933

Dear Mr. Chairman:

Pursuant to Rules 7 and 11 of the Rules for the Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19
Pandemic, the undersigned Members are writing to request that the next meeting(s) of the
Joint Select Committee be dedicated to hearing testimony on Michigan’s (1) COVID-19
testing capacity and (2) acquisition of personal protective equipment (PPE).

House Concurrent Resolution 20 assigns this Committee the duty to examine “the status
and efficacy of governmental actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” As we look
retrospectively at the governmental response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and
prospectively to the phased reengagement of our economy and management of the ongoing
public health crisis, we believe that availability of appropriate PPE for health care
professionals, first responders, and other critical infrastructure workers and robust testing
capacity are issues of paramount concern to the State of Michigan. We are hardly alone in
this conclusion. These two issues are frequently cited as considerations of the greatest
importance by public health authorities, including Dr. Robert Redfield (Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Dr. Anthony Fauci (Director of the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), and Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun Michigan
(Michigan Department of Health and Human Services).

In the ten weeks since the outbreak of COVID-19 in our state, we have each read a number
of deeply troubling reports about the lack of a coordinated national strategy to ensure that
states, including Michigan, have access to PPE and testing supplies and equipment.
Reports of defective or incorrect materials being sent by federal authorities. Reports of
critical materials being intercepted or commandeered. Reports of inadequate supplies
within the Strategic National Stockpile. It has been widely reported that the chaotic,
disjoined pandemic response by the federal government has left states, once again,
including Michigan, to bid against one another to acquire these essential materials. There
is no doubt that these deficiencies have exacerbated the impact of this pandemic and
frustrated Michigan’s ability to respond. In our view, it is hard to imagine a pair of issues
more central to this Committee’s charge than these.
As such, in order to gather the information necessary for this Committee to make
“recommendations on further appropriate actions the Legislature may take to address the
COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent or prepare for similar emergencies in the state,” we
respectfully request that the requested hearing(s) be scheduled without delay and suggest
that witnesses include both officials with responsibility for procurement of PPE and
deployment of COVID-19 testing, healthcare workers, and first responders.

We appreciate your prompt consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

State Representative Vanessa Guerra

Minority Vice Chair
Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic

State Representative Tyrone Carter

Member
Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic

State Senator Curtis Hertel, Jr.

Member
Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic

Adam J. Hollier
Member
Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic

VG/nat