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Rep. Waters Joins AARP Telephone Town Hall with 600+ Seniors in the 43rd District

June 15, 2020

LOS ANGELES – More than 600 seniors from the 43rd District cities of Los Angeles, Inglewood, Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, and Lomita joined AARP's California Telephone Town Hall with Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, to discuss the federal response to COVID-19 on June 9.

During the telephone town hall, Congresswoman Waters answered questions from AARP members on a wide range of issues including the importance of wearing masks, social distancing, and other actions residents can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19; access to food assistance programs like Meals on Wheels; expanded unemployment benefits; economic stimulus payments; and vote-by-mail initiatives.

As the sole member of the California delegation serving on the Bipartisan House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Congresswoman Waters also discussed her leadership in advocating for increased testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) for nursing homes and assisted living facilities, which have been the source of 40% of all COVID-19 deaths. Congresswoman Waters also expressed her support for the Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents and Workers During COVID-19 Act (H.R. 6698), a comprehensive bill authored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9) that would increase testing, quality of care, worker and resident safety, and infection control in nursing homes.

"I am deeply concerned about the well-being of seniors in my District and across the country who are at great risk of not only contracting the coronavirus, but also being harmed by its devastating impact on the economy," said Congresswoman Maxine Waters. "I want every senior in my community to know and understand that my colleagues and I are doing all that we can to provide a safety net for our seniors who are more than deserving of our support. Whether we are talking about providing additional funding for testing and PPE for nursing homes, protecting Social Security and Medicare, or increasing funding for housing assistance and financial relief, seniors are high on our legislative agenda. I thank AARP for organizing such an important discussion on the work I am doing every day in Congress on behalf of our seniors and their families."

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Issues:Health Care