Dear Friend,
Good afternoon! I will be in Washington, D.C., tomorrow to vote against legislation that would be harmful to the well-being of our nation and our democracy.
The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act is a $3 trillion spending bill that Democrats worked on for weeks while
Nancy Pelosi refused to allow Members to return to Congress. The final product received no input from Republicans and is an 1,800-page Democratic
wish-list. Democrats and Republicans have worked together since the beginning of this outbreak for the American people, but Democrats have now
broken those weeks of good will by introducing this highly partisan legislation.
COVID-19 Testing Sites and Resources
The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) will be operating drive-through testing sites
in the coming days. If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19 and are interested in being tested, please download the C Spire Health app or dial (601) 496-7200.
- May 15 – Clarke County: Clarke County EMA, 642 S. Archusa Ave., Quitman
- May 15 – Carroll County: J.Z. George High School, 900 George St., North Carrollton
- May 16 – Wayne County: Waynesboro City Auditorium, 1008 Benton St., Waynesboro
- May 16 – Alcorn County: Crossroads Arena, 2800 S. Harper Road, Corinth
- May 18 – Chickasaw County: Okolona Vocational Complex, 605 N. Church St., Okolona
I have compiled a list of resources on my website for your convenience. By visiting my Coronavirus Relief page,
you can find helpful information on managing this crisis. We will continue to update the page as more information becomes available, so be sure
to check back every few days and subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates.
A Far-Left Wish List
The so-called HEROES Act would fundamentally alter our elections, encourage individuals not to work for months on end, provide a lifeline to unstable pension plans, and
is filled with numerous partisan poison pills. For example, the legislation mandates a release of certain criminals and includes provisions to
allow immigrants in the United States illegally to work during the crisis and receive government payments while millions of Americans are filing
for unemployment. This legislation is expected to pass the House of Representatives, but not the Senate.
It is disappointing that the Democrats developed this legislation without any input from their Republican colleagues and have presented a partisan
bill that does more to divide this Congress than address the current national disaster. The coronavirus outbreak is not the time for political
posturing or an opportunity to enact partisan priorities. Over the past few months, Congress has worked in a bipartisan way to respond to the needs
of Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope the future negotiations will return to that same level of cooperation.
A Historically Crippling Rule Change
On top of introducing their extremely partisan legislation, Democrats have also proposed a radical rule change for voting in the House of Representatives.
Since the founding of our nation, Representatives have come together to debate the merits of proposed legislation and cast their own votes in the
Chamber. This has been a foundational part of our successful democracy. However, Democrats have proposed undoing this critical piece of our legislative
process by introducing a rule change to allow proxy voting in the House, despite Republican opposition. Republicans have proposed four strategies to get Congress back to work.
Republicans want to work for the American people, not use this time for a historic change in precedent that threatens to undermine the integrity
of the institution and further diminishes the rights of Republicans as the Minority Party in the House.
Latest Statistics
As of Thursday, May 14th, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 1,384,930 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States. From Wednesday to Thursday, we saw 20,869 additional cases. The number
of individuals who have passed away as a result of infection increased by 1,701 nationwide, and the total number of deaths in the U.S. from the
virus is now 83,947. See below for graphs and infographics from the Mississippi State Department of Health on the number of cases in Mississippi.
As of today, an additional 393 Mississippians have contracted the coronavirus, and 15 more Mississippians passed away from the virus. In total,
105,326 Mississippians have been tested for COVID-19.
Sincerely,
Michael Guest
Member of Congress