NEW: Top Perdue Donor Lobbying White House Against Using Key Tool To Produce Emergency Equipment

Despite ongoing public health crisis, Perdue’s business group ally lobbied Trump administration against using Defense Production Act for lifesaving equipment

ATLANTA — Senator David Perdue claims that “the time for action is now” on the coronavirus pandemic — but one of his top corporate interest group donors has been quietly working behind the scenes to lobby the White House against invoking the Defense Production Act to make more lifesaving equipment available to fight this pandemic.

While in-state health care providers are worried that supply and other resource shortages could mean “we can’t keep the doors open” and have been reduced to using spare supplies from television show sets, Perdue and his Chamber of Commerce allies clearly don’t see the same need for pressing action for health care workers who are “scrambling” to avoid equipment shortfalls.

Perdue also refuses to condemn the Trump administration’s call for a 15% cut to the CDC budget — a request the White House recently “doubled down” on. Instead, he remains committed to a reckless lawsuit to “terminate” the health care law and its critical protections for Georgians’ access to care in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak.

“With Georgia lives on the line, it’s shameful that allies of Senator David Perdue are lobbying against employing stronger measures to make lifesaving equipment available during this pandemic,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Senator Perdue must stand up to his corporate special interest backers and demand that every step be taken to get our frontline health care workers the supplies they need to fight this crisis safely.”

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