Chai Suthammanont Remembrance Act of 2021

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and neighbor, the Congresswoman from the District of Columbia for her work, and I also thank the Republican manager for his kind remarks about a grieving family in my district.

Last year, I brought a similar version of this bill to the floor requiring Federal agencies to communicate safety plans to their employees before returning to their offices. It is not an extra layer of paperwork; it is a plan. You have just got to have a plan so that we don't have more people like Chai Suthammanont dying from COVID. It seems to me that is something we ought to come together on, on a bipartisan basis.

While our country opens for business, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations that had been declining just a month ago are again on the rise, and the dangerous delta variant accounts for 83 percent of those cases in the United States.

Meanwhile, only 56.3 percent of the total U.S. population has had at least one dose of the vaccine, and in 16 States, fewer than 50 percent of the population has had at least one dose, including, I believe, the State of the distinguished Republican manager today.

We are clearly not out of the woods, and we must look to ensure the safety of both of our Federal workforce and our contract Federal workforce as they return to the workplace.

The Chai Suthammanont Remembrance Act would require every Federal

agency to prepare and communicate a safety plan for how to do that.

The plan would include descriptions of the personal protective equipment that the agency will provide to its onsite employees and contractors; guidance of other mitigation efforts; protections for employees whose work requires them to travel offsite; testing, contact tracing, if necessary, and vaccination protocols; and procedures that ensure the continuity of operations in the event it is necessary to reverse onsite requirements.

The bill would also require every agency's inspector general to report on whether the agency has published and implemented a safety plan consistent with CDC guidelines.

We should not be looking to rush Federal employees back to offices no matter what the cost, because that cost is too high. Already, two of our colleagues in this body, who have been vaccinated, have contracted the delta variant, apparently, of COVID-19. People are at risk.

The man for whom this bill is named tragically lost his life in May of 2020. He was an immigrant from Thailand, who came here at the age of 17. He built a life as a man known for helping others.

Even in retirement, Chai's call to service brought him to work as a Federal employee at the Marine Corps Community Services Child Development Center in Quantico, Virginia. He worked to prepare meals for the children of our Marines. He developed a unique handshake for every kid at the daycare, making every child feel special and included.

On April 27, 2020, Chai worked his last full shift at the daycare kitchen as one of his coworkers coughed repeatedly and looked very ill. The problem was there were no protocols in place. That person subsequently tested positive.

A month later, after 13 days on a ventilator, my constituent, Chai, lost his life unnecessarily, because there was no plan. There were no protocols.

This bill would prevent that. This bill will save lives. I plead with my friends on the other side of the aisle, please let's not make this a political pawn.

For the sake of Chai, his surviving widow, his family, his loved ones, his colleagues at the Marine base at Quantico, can we not do the right thing?

I could talk a lot about the need for this, Mr. Speaker. I could talk more about Chai and his family, but I rest on the hope and belief that today on this matter we will hear the better angels of our nature and make sure that no more Chais have to die because of a lack of protocol and the lack of a plan simply to protect the workforce in the Federal workplace.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to express sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Suthammanont.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has meant painful losses for many families across America.

I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Connolly, for his work on this bill.

Discussing this legislation is a reminder as to how precious life is. Every loss impacts a community and the surviving family members.

Over the past year-and-a-half, the COVID-19 pandemic has extraordinarily challenged our Nation. For example, the pandemic presented unprecedented workforce challenges for the Federal Government. Every State and territory were under a historically unprecedented emergency declaration and sought assistance from Federal agencies.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations have issued numerous guidance materials to Federal agencies to ensure the vital work of America's Government could continue in a safe manner.

This bill is well intentioned, and I support government-wide transparency to the American people and the Federal workforce. But the reality is, I feel that this bill is creating unnecessary and duplicative paperwork requirements.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations publicly released much of the information this bill seeks to obtain, and the Biden administration continues to require the current planning the bill seeks.

Further, putting restrictive reporting requirements on agencies may hinder the new administration's ability to bring the Federal workforce back to work rapidly as it is determined safe to do so. I have concerns that it may be duplicating existing efforts of the Federal Government.

We hope to continue working together with our colleagues across the aisle to make sure the Federal Government is effectively delivering necessary resources and services to the American people in a safe manner.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I do not intend to request a roll call vote on this bill, but I am concerned that it may be duplicating existing efforts of the Federal Government. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 978) to require the head of each agency to establish a safety plan relating to COVID-19 for any worksite at which employees or contractors are required to be physically present during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure before us.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 978 would require Federal agencies to establish protocols and protections to ensure the health and safety of Federal employees upon returning to their regular workstations.

Each agency would be responsible for posting its policy on its website and properly notifying employees of the procedures within 60 days of enactment or 30 days before a closed worksite reopens.

Within 6 months, the inspector general of each agency must submit to Congress a review on implementation and communication of the procedures.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill, which is named in honor of one of Representative Connolly's constituents, a Federal employee, who died tragically of coronavirus in May of last year.

Federal employees both here in Washington, D.C., and across the country have been on the front lines of the government response to the coronavirus pandemic from the beginning.

As more are preparing to return to their regular worksites, this legislation will help make sure that policies are clearly conveyed to employees so that return happens safely.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this bill, and I urge Members to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly), my good friend and colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the ordering of the yeas and nays on the motion that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 978) to require the head of each agency to establish a safety plan relating to COVID-19 for any worksite at which employees or contractors are required to be physically present during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes be vacated, to the end that the motion be considered as withdrawn.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.