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Congressman Gonzalez and Members of Texas Congressional Delegation Urge Governor Abbott to Allow Texas Municipalities to Institute Stay-At-Home Orders

June 29, 2020

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and Members of the Texas Congressional Delegation urged Governor Greg Abbott to take additional steps to allow cities and counties to institute enforceable stay-at-home orders at their discretion. Governor Abbott has pursued one of the most aggressive economic reopening strategies in the United States that has resulted in skyrocketing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Texas.

Congressman Gonzalez was joined by fellow Texas Congressional Members Filemon Vela (TX-34), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), Al Green (TX-09), and Lloyd Doggett (TX-35) in urging Governor Abbott to allow counties to enact enforceable public health measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus and flatten the curve in Texas.

"Municipalities and their local law enforcement agencies must be allowed to listen to their health care experts and institute whatever measures are needed to bring the coronavirus under control," said the Members of Congress. "Governor Abbott took important steps to mitigate the virus' impact, but it's not enough. The status quo is unacceptable and counties must be allowed to decide for themselves what is best for their citizens. "

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Governor Abbott has been slow to respond to the emerging pandemic and hospitals near capacity in many cities across the state. Under the Governor's current phased opening child care, youth camps and churches still have no limits on capacity.

With the Fourth of July weekend approaching and no public mask mandate, many beaches remain open and gatherings up to 100 people are still permitted under the Governor's current orders.

As of Sunday, June 28, Texas reported its sixth consecutive day of more than 5,000 coronavirus cases and reported 27 new deaths.

Issues:Health Care