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Lofgren, Eshoo, Khanna, Panetta Announce $5.7+ Million in Federal COVID-19 Funding for Santa Clara County to Help Hardest-Hit Communities

June 2, 2021

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA – Today, U.S. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Anna Eshoo (CA-18), Ro Khanna (CA-17), and Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide $5,727,874 in COVID-19 relief funding to Santa Clara County to help the hardest-hit communities.

This funding was included in the year-end government funding and COVID-19 relief package, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which Lofgren, Eshoo, Khanna, and Panetta voted for and the House passed at the end of December 2020. The legislation included $2.25 billion to improve COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and mitigation in high-risk and underserved populations.

"For more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for families in Santa Clara County. Unfortunately, already-existing disparities in healthcare access and outcomes have only been exacerbated during the pandemic. Underserved communities, including racial and ethnic minority groups, have often experienced higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. This funding will importantly help address these disparities and meet the needs of the communities that have been hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Rep. Lofgren.

"Over a year into the pandemic, communities of color and low-income neighborhoods continue to contract and die from Covid at much higher rates. As Chairwoman of the Health Subcommittee, addressing these disparities is a top priority. That's why I'm proud to join my colleagues to announce $5.7 million to Santa Clara County to reduce the spread of Covid in underserved and high-risk communities, boost testing and contact tracing to those neighborhoods, and supply resources to health departments most in need to combat these disparities," said Rep. Eshoo. "I will continue working with my colleagues to address health disparities on all levels and close the racial gap that persists in our health systems."

"Incredibly proud to join my fellow South Bay Representatives in announcing the receipt of $5.7 million for Santa Clara County's fight against COVID-19, specifically targeted at helping our most underserved & under-funded communities," said Rep. Khanna. "We know this pandemic hit our Black and Brown neighbors harder. Whether it was fighting with employers to take a week off to quarantine or struggling to find child care to go see a doctor, we must do more to ensure that every American, no matter their zip code, can access our country's high quality medical services. I am relieved to see the Department of Health and Human Services recognize the extraordinary & persistent need in Santa Clara County, and grateful for the extra funding as we work to keep everyone in our districts safe and healthy."

"COVID-19 has disproportionately threatened the health and wellbeing of underserved, high-risk communities across the Central Coast," said Rep. Panetta. "Fortunately, we in Congress acted to help these communities recover by passing the end of year rescue package, which made this assistance for Santa Clara County possible. This $5.7 million in federal funds will help reduce COVID-19 related health disparities for those who need it most, helping to secure our long term recovery."

The funds will go directly to state, local, territorial, and freely associated state health departments to reduce health disparities, improve testing and contact tracing in underserved populations, and increase the capacity to mitigate or prevent the spread of COVID-19 in higher-risk and underserved communities. This funding builds on previous federal support to address the COVID-19 pandemic in Santa Clara County, including $15.5 million for Community Health Centers to provide COVID-19 vaccines and $25 million to reimburse the County for its vaccine administration and distribution efforts.

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