U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) praised the approval of an $8.3 billion federal emergency supplemental spending bill to respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement after the funding agreement was signed into law:

“Today we’ve taken a critical first step toward addressing the coronavirus outbreaks nationwide — but it is the first of many we need to take. Next, it’s imperative we turn to other necessary steps to keep people safe and able to make the decisions that are best for them, their families, and their communities.

“To start, far too many people have no paid sick leave and no way to make ends meet if they need to miss work. The last thing we need is people worried about how they will pay the bills when they should be able to focus on staying healthy and preventing the spread of this disease.”

“As I’ve said before — public health threats like this outbreak have hidden and higher costs for those who are paid lower wages, who don’t have affordable child care, who don’t have health insurance, or who are experiencing homelessness. As we continue responding to this crisis I’m going to stay focused on what all our families are actually experiencing and what they need to keep themselves and their communities safe,” Murray said.