Press Releases

SPRINGFIELD, MA — Today, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) called on General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy to immediately ascertain that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the successful candidates for the office of President and Vice President. Although major news organizations declared President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris the winners of the election on November 7, 2020, GSA Administrator Murphy continues to hold up the transition process and prevent critical COVID-19 response preparations from taking place.

“Your continued refusal to grant the Biden-Harris Transition Team access to critical services and facilities specified in the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 impairs the incoming administration’s ability to address the coronavirus pandemic, threatening catastrophic consequences for the American people,” wrote Chairman Neal. “It is unclear on what basis you continue to deny that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the apparent successful candidates for the office of President and Vice President.”

Chairman Neal underscored that “each day lost in the transition process puts more Americans at risk of contracting or dying from the coronavirus.”

“Nearly three weeks have passed since the American people chose Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as their next President and Vice President,” Neal reminded Administrator Murphy. “In that time, the public health crisis has worsened and millions of Americans have continued to struggle financially due to the COVID-19 recession. This is a critical time for the incoming administration to access essential information and resources to prepare for an efficient and peaceful transfer of power.”

The Chairman concluded his letter by emphasizing: “With your refusal to abide by the procedures established by the Presidential Transition Act, you are complicit in an unprecedented challenge to our Democratic norms and are endangering the lives and livelihoods of people across the nation. I call on you to put your fellow Americans before political expediency and immediately ascertain that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the successful candidates for the office of President and Vice President.”

Read Neal’s full letter HERE.

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