{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.smith.senate.gov/us-senators-tina-smith-elizabeth-warren-call-agencies-provide-complete-transparent-and-timely", "U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren Call on Agencies to Provide  \"Complete, Transparent, and Timely National Reporting of COVID-19 Cases\" in K-12 Schools", "2020-10-30", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Tina Smith", "S001203", "www.smith.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Letter Follows DeVos' Comments that she Doesn't Believe Education Department  is Responsible for Tracking School Reopening Plans or Positive Cases in Schools \nWASHINGTON, D.C. [10/30/2020]U.S Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.),are pressing the nation's top health and education officialsto issue detailedguidanceso thatthenation'selementary and secondary schools can workwith state and local officials to ensure complete, transparent and timely reporting of COVID-19 cases.\nIn their letter to U.S. Health and Human ServicesSecretary Alex Azar, U.S EducationSecretary Betsy DeVos, and Center for Disease Control and PreventionDirector Robert Redfield, the Senators also urged the agencies to study outbreaks in K-12 schools to understand the effectiveness of different mitigation strategies and toprovide further guidance on reporting COVID-19 cases.\nOn October 20, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos stated that she believes the Department of Education is not responsible for tracking school districts' reopening plans or positive COVID-19 cases in schools,the Senators wrote. This sentiment represents a complete abdication of national leadership, which has made it difficult for local education leaders, families, and policymakers to accurately evaluate the risk of physically reopening schools.\n\nFederal guidance beyond this is lacking, resulting in significant variation across schools, school districts, and states.This lack of clear guidance results in inconsistent information across localities, states, and the nation and is making it extremely challenging for schools and families to make informed decisions.\nYou can read a copy of the letterhere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.smith.senate.gov/us-senators-tina-smith-elizabeth-warren-call-agencies-provide-complete-transparent-and-timely"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6446819063276052, "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"}