{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://wassermanschultz.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2552", "Fla. Cong. Democrats Demand DeSantis Disclose COVID Task Force Reports, Stop Suppressing Public Health Info", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Debbie Wasserman Schultz", "W000797", "wassermanschultz.house.gov", "wassermanschultz", "https://wassermanschultz.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "Washington DC \u2013 Florida Congressional Democrats today called on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to release undisclosed weekly White House Coronavirus Task Force Reports and quit ignoring the urgent health recommendations they call for, and once again, they demanded that the governor stop manipulating COVID-19 health data \u2013 all of which compromises public safety and undermines the vital credibility needed to aggressively confront this deadly pandemic.\n\nFlorida media have continued to uncover a long-running pattern by DeSantis of withholding and manipulating COVID-19 data. The Orlando Sentinel recently sued DeSantis to release all the weekly reports, and after relenting to make two of them public, the Orlando newspaper reported that the governor had largely ignored the report\u2019s recommendations. In an equally troubling report, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that the state suddenly and temporarily paused reporting data concerning backlogged COVID-related death totals around the presidential election.\n\n\u201cBy failing to publicly disclose the Task Force reports in a timely manner, and purposefully creating a reporting gap in Florida's coronavirus death data, your Administration continues to demonstrate a lack of transparency without reason or justification,\u201d the Florida Democratic Members of Congress wrote in a letter co-led by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) and Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09). \u201cThese actions continue to erode the public\u2019s trust in your ability to ensure the health and safety of Floridians.\u201d\n\nSigners on the letter also include Reps.: Reps. Alcee Hastings, FL-20, Kathy Castor (FL-14), Ted Deutch (FL-22), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), Lois Frankel (FL-21), Charlie Crist (FL-13), Al Lawson (FL-05), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07) and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26).\n\nSee the entire letter below:\n\nThe Honorable Ron DeSantis\n\nOffice of Governor\n\nState of Florida, The Capitol\n\n400 S. Monroe St.\n\nTallahassee, FL 32399-0001\n\nGovernor DeSantis:\n\nWe write out of concern with the ongoing and purposeful lack of transparency regarding COVID-19 by your Administration. Reports indicate that your Administration has chosen to withhold from the public the weekly White House Coronavirus Task Force Reports, and ignore the recommendations contained therein. In addition, an investigation revealed that the State abruptly and temporarily paused reporting data concerning backlogged COVID-related death totals during the timeframe of the presidential election. As such, we urge you to publicly and promptly release future reports to the public and require an explanation for your Administration\u2019s decision to suppress factual data in these separate matters.\n\nDuring a public health emergency, it is imperative that your Administration provide Floridians with timely information and guidance that ensures their health and safety. The Task Force\u2019s weekly reports provide states with recommendations necessary to control the spread of the virus and protect their constituents, and advocates for these reports to be widely shared with the general public. The latest report from December 6, urges the escalation of mitigation efforts, such as no indoor gatherings outside of immediate households, aggressive testing to identify asymptomatic cases, and increased mask usage. In contravention, your Administration has ordered a full reopening of bars and restaurants, encouraged indoor dining, and sought to stop local governments from enforcing mask mandates. Instead of adhering to medical and scientific expertise, you made the decision to conceal these reports from the public since Nov. 1 without reason or justification, which is counterintuitive to reduction of community spread.\n\nIn addition, an analysis of Florida\u2019s data reporting demonstrates that the State stopped including backlogged COVID-related fatalities \u2013 specifically, deaths that occurred more than one month earlier \u2013 in its daily counts from October 24 through November 17. Outside of this timeframe, the State consistently included this information in its daily reports. Without explanation of purpose for this reporting gap, the timing of this action is unusual given this temporarily altered data exhibited favorable mortality rates ten days before the presidential election until two weeks thereafter. This investigation especially is troubling considering allegations that health officials in the state were told not to speak about COVID until after the election, and that health experts in Florida have repeatedly alleged that COVID-related deaths are being underreported.\n\nBy failing to publicly disclose the Task Force reports in a timely manner, and purposefully creating a reporting gap in Florida's coronavirus death data, your Administration continues to demonstrate a lack of transparency without reason or justification. These actions continue to erode the public\u2019s trust in your ability to ensure the health and safety of Floridians.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://wassermanschultz.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2552"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8061740081757307, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}