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ME 211515

February 13 2020

The Honorable Alex M. Azar II

Secretary

Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC. 20201

Dear Secretary Azar:

As members of Congress representing Riverside County, California we urge you to reimburse
the county for their expenses related to their role in receiving, testing, housing, and monitoring
Americans returning from China.

As you know, on January 29, a flight from Wuhan, China was diverted to March Air Reserve
Base (MARB) in Riverside, California. Riverside County responded efficiently and was effective
in monitoring and quarantining passengers for l4?days until it could be determined that they did
not have the Coronavirus. We appreciate your diligence in ensuring that none of the passengers
comin from Wuhan are carrying the virus. Riverside County successfully stepped in to mitigate
this potential public health emergency, and in the process incurred significant outlays. At the
time of this letter, costs to the county have been nearly $1.3 million for personnel, equipment, a
mobile clinic, and emergency management standby.

The spread of the Coronavirus could lead to a worldwide pandemic, and it is imperative that we
take every reasonable precaution to ensure that it does not spread. We want to ensure that county
and local governments, who are often already running on tight budgets, are reimbursed in a
timely manner. As with the public health emergencies of Ebola, Zika, and 1 local agencies
need to be provided with federal funds to offset costs incurred in safeguarding our nation?s
public health and preventing the spread of harmful viruses. Rapid reimbursement leads to future
readiness for addressing public health threats.

In an effort to assist our partners on the ground, we request timely responses to the following:

1. What is the process by which the County needs to apply for reimbursement?
2. What is the expected time frame for reimbursement?

As you work to identify resources to offset the costs to agencies across the country that have
used their own money to help secure the public health, we encourage you to work quickly to
ensure that they receive full and timely reimbursement for the costs they have incurred in
carrying out this public service.

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Thank you for your partnership in these critical efforts and for your consideration of this request.

Raul Ruiz, .D. Mark Takano Ken Calvert
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Sincerely,