Democratic senators want mask-wearing mandate included in negotiated COVID-19 relief package Just the News, Dec 4, 2020
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) want to see a "mask-wearing mandate" as part of the next coronavirus relief package that Congress passes.
"Our goal is going to be, you know, to work towards including it inside of the coronavirus relief package," Markey said during a news conference on Friday about the Encouraging Masks for All Act. "We think this is kind of common sense."
Congressional leaders and the White House are currently negotiating another coronavirus relief bill.
"Making this mask-wearing mandate a part of that pandemic relief is an imperative; it's a moral imperative," Blumenthal said at the news conference.
"And frankly, a political imperative," he added, "because the solution to this pandemic requires a comprehensive strategy, including mask-wearing, physical distancing, hand-washing, even as we move into a stage in addressing the pandemic that will enable more and more people to have vaccine. But this pandemic relief package is a good down payment. It's a next step, and the mask-wearing mandate should be a part of it."
According to Markey's office, the Encouraging Masks for All Act would "encourage states to require the use of face masks in all public spaces and outside when one cannot maintain social distance."
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/democratic-senators-want-mask-wearing-mandate-included-negotiated-covid-19
