Title: A resolution expressing appreciation and support for essential employees with disabilities or who are blind during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the essential work performed by individuals with disabilities or who are blind during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. It recognizes and thanks essential employees with disabilities or who are blind for their vital contributions.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 679 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 679

   Expressing appreciation and support for essential employees with 
 disabilities or who are blind during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            August 10, 2020

  Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Perdue, and Mr. Scott of 
South Carolina) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
       to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing appreciation and support for essential employees with 
 disabilities or who are blind during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Whereas, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been necessary for essential 
        services to continue in areas where most businesses and government 
        buildings are closed;
Whereas the contracts for essential services arise under Federal, State, and 
        local government programs that are intended, in part, to provide 
        employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities or who are 
        blind;
Whereas many essential employees with disabilities or who are blind work through 
        disability service providers that provide training, job coaches, 
        transportation, and any other needed support to help those employees 
        perform essential work;
Whereas the essential work performed during the COVID-19 pandemic includes--

    (1) provisioning the United States Navy hospital ships, Comfort and 
Mercy;

    (2) manufacturing and delivering thousands of critical products that 
strengthen the COVID-19 response of the United States and support 
hospitals, health care professionals, first responders, the United States 
military, and governments at all levels, including personal protective 
equipment, hand sanitizer, cleaning products and disinfectants, first aid 
kits, exam gloves, and toilet paper;

    (3) supporting Federal and State efforts to establish pop-up hospitals;

    (4) assembling kits for the Army that are used to build COVID-19 
treatment centers across the United States;

    (5) providing the United States military with critical products, 
including the helmets and uniforms soldiers wear every day as National 
Guard units are deployed around the United States;

    (6) performing custodial and commissary work, food services, and total 
facility management services on military bases across the United States and 
the territories of the United States;

    (7) maintaining offices and providing other services in Federal, State, 
and local government buildings where vital work is being performed, 
including--

    G    (A) Federal buildings in and around the District of Columbia, such 
as the Library of Congress, the congressional office buildings, the Mark 
Center, and the buildings that house the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, the Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human 
Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of State;

    G    (B) State buildings, such as State police barracks, State 
department of transportation operation centers, and State courthouses; and

    G    (C) numerous other locations across the United States and the 
territories of the United States;

    (8) with respect to services performed for the medical centers in the 
Department of Veterans Affairs--

    G    (A) providing deep-cleaning and sanitizing services;

    G    (B) operating switchboards; and

    G    (C) manufacturing prescription bottles, exam gloves, and other 
products;

    (9) providing call center and technical support to State and Federal 
entities;

    (10) operating crisis hotlines and call centers to process the surge in 
State unemployment claims;

    (11) sourcing and providing urgently needed personal protective 
equipment;

    (12) providing personal protective equipment for employees of the 
Bureau of the Census;

    (13) delivering 250 Federal medical stations under contract with the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

    (14) leveraging sewing expertise to produce hundreds of thousands of 
cloth face masks for Federal customers, including the military and medical 
centers in the Department of Veterans Affairs, medical clinics, local 
businesses, and the general public;

    (15) increasing the availability of supplies and adapting Base Supply 
Centers to sell personal protective equipment and cleaning products to 
customers on military bases;

    (16) stepping up custodial efforts to--

    G    (A) address known COVID-19 incident locations; and

    G    (B) establish preventative measures to enable other essential 
employees, such as medical professionals and military personnel, to 
continue their service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic;

    (17) responding to dynamic changes in acquisition methods to meet the 
needs of Federal, State, and local government customers;

    (18) packaging food items and necessary supplies for ongoing work 
performed by Federal, State, and local government employees; and

    (19) hosting virtual support groups, donating items, and providing 
essential services in communities across the United States;

Whereas the essential employees who perform these jobs, many of whom have 
        disabilities or are blind, play a central and invaluable role in 
        protecting the United States and the territories of the United States 
        and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas Congress and the Federal Government have recognized the importance of 
        these jobs by passing laws that support hiring individuals with 
        disabilities or who are blind;
Whereas essential employees with disabilities or who are blind--

    (1) have continued to perform their regular duties and more throughout 
the COVID-19 pandemic;

    (2) are vital to the economy of the United States and the territories 
of the United States; and

    (3) were essential before the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be 
essential after the COVID-pandemic has passed into history;

Whereas these jobs are vital to the personal finances and well-being of the 
        individuals who perform them; and
Whereas work opportunities to perform essential jobs during the COVID-19 
        pandemic  arise under programs authorized by Congress or State and local 
        legislatures: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the essential work performed by individuals 
        with disabilities or who are blind during the COVID-19 
        pandemic; and
            (2) recognizes and thanks essential employees with 
        disabilities or who are blind for--
                    (A) their efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; 
                and
                    (B) the vital contributions to the United States 
                they have made in the past and will make in the future.
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