Congressman Casten to hold teleconference town hall Tuesday evening
Chronicle Media — March 31, 2020
Sean Casten (CQ Roll Call photo)
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-6th) will host a telephone town hall Tuesday (March 31) with local officials and health care experts to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
During Casten’s telephone town hall, from 6:50-7:50 p.m. Tuesday, he will deliver an update on efforts in Congress to address the coronavirus, take constituent questions regarding the pandemic, and hear from local experts about guidance and recommendations for 6th District residents.
Individuals scheduled to be on the call are Casten; Pat Collier, deputy chief of staff for federal affairs for Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office, Laura Vaught, division chief of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Mary Lou Mastro, president and CEO of Edward-Elmhurst Health; Dr. Sanjeeb Khatua, chief physician executive of Edward-Elmhurst Health; and Karen Ayala, executive director of the DuPage County Health Department.
To join the interactive telephone town hall, constituents should dial-in to 855-695-3745. To listen live to the conversation, 6th District constituents can go to https://casten.house.gov/live during the event.
On Friday (March 27), Casten voted for the bipartisan CARES Act, a third measure to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The package contains $2 trillion in aid to individuals, businesses and states.
The CARES Act builds upon bipartisan House Resolution 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which Casten voted for earlier this month and was signed into law.
The Families First Act included free coronavirus testing, paid emergency leave with two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave, additional access to food assistance for individuals in need, and dedicated funding to bolster states’ public health capacity.
Casten also helped pass the first emergency response package earlier this month. The $8.3 billion funding package consisted of emergency funding for state and local health agencies, vaccine development and small business loans to lessen economic damage.
