ASME Hosts Virtual Town Hall with Rep. Kathleen Rice to Discuss COVID-19 Response Effort

ASME recently convened a virtual Town Hall with Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (NY-04), Chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security and member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation. In a discussion co-hosted by ASME's Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile and Managing Director of Global Public Affairs, John Hasselmann, Representative Rice offered insights on the challenges of re-starting the economy while managing the COVID-19 pandemic and how Congress is adapting to remote operations while assisting communities with access to recovery resources. 
 
Representative Rice, who represents New York's a diverse suburban community located on Long Island, NY, offered insight on the outlook on additional federal stimulus spending and infrastructure investment as Congress examines additional recovery stimulus spending. Achieving a broad, bipartisan agreement on an infrastructure investment package remains an priority for many in Congress, especially as economic restart efforts face re-lapses due to COVID-19 outbreaks in early-opening states. In addition to assistance to small businesses, Congresswoman Rice spoke about the importance of ensuring adequate resources for schools – both ensuring access to critical technology resources like broadband and laptops and the importance of investing in STEM education and workforce development programs as part of our economic recovery.
 
“We still have a national shortage of educators who are equipped to teach science, engineering, and math – subjects that are critical for a successful 21^st century economy – so investing in STEM education should be part of this effort as we work to fully re-open our economy.”
 
Watch the full virtual town hall event.