Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) are advocating legislation that would create a COVID-19 Commission modeled after a similar panel that examined the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The National Coronavirus Commission Act of 2021 would establish an independent, non-partisan commission responsible for assessing the domestic pandemic preparedness and response while also providing recommendations to improve our preparedness for future public health emergencies.
“As our nation continues to respond to the current public health and economic crisis, we must also work to ensure that our country is better prepared for future epidemics and pandemics,” Collins said. “Throughout history, Americans have repeatedly come together to overcome challenges. Following the devastating terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, for example, the independent, bipartisan 9/11 Commission that Congress established provided a thorough review of the events and identified ways to safeguard our nation.”
Collins noted the bill would form a bipartisan commission assessing successes, as well as areas in need of improvement in responding to COVID-19.
“As we grieve the loss of more than half-a-million Americans to COVID-19, we have a responsibility to do a thorough, independent review of what happened, what went wrong, and what we can do better, so we’re prepared for the next public health emergency,” Menendez said. “Millions of American lives have been devastated, our health systems have been pushed to the brink, and our economy has been decimated. We can never put our country, our communities, and our families through this again. We will need to come together in a bipartisan way, as we did after 9/11, to do the serious, necessary work to protect American lives because if we fail to learn anything from COVID-19, we are doomed to repeat this.”