We, the undersigned, are AAPI healthcare providers from across the country who voice our solidarity with Black Americans and condemn anti-Black racism. With them, we mourn for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the countless other Black lives that have been prematurely ended because of racism. We commit to dismantling racism and supporting Black Americans as both fellow Americans and as leaders within healthcare. As healthcare providers, we see racism as a public health crisis in this country. We join the many healthcare organizations across the country who have issued statements about the devastating impacts of racism on health. We recognize the murder of George Floyd as a particularly gruesome example of the injustice caused by police violence and racism. As healthcare providers, we also must recognize how our own profession perpetuates and contributes to racial inequity. As members of the AAPI diaspora we acknowledge that an Asian American officer, Tou Thao, was complicit in George Floyd’s death. We support charges brought against him for aiding and abetting the murder of George Floyd. The experiences and histories of the AAPI diaspora are complex and varied. We have been exploited, oppressed, stigmatized, and murdered by racism. We have also been silent in the face of anti-Black racism, benefited from anti-Black racism, and participated in anti-Black racism. We are both victims and perpetrators and must take action to examine anti-Blackness through the lens of our own personal and historical trauma of colonialism so that we can best stand with Black communities.

If he is not immediately removed from office (and subsequently arrested for his multiple crimes against humanity), this country, with all the immense challenges it is facing, will not survive until November. He has made it abundantly clear he will not cede control of the office of president, regardless of the outcome. He has sanctioned the murder and open violence against the majority of the electorate by his sharing the despicable vitriol of a supporter stating "the only good Democrat is a DEAD Democrat". He has openly called for the unlawful and illegal suppression of our constitutional rights to redress our grievances and lawful assembly- as he did in his phone address to our Nation's Governors on June 1st, 2020.

"The one word I have to use with respect to what he's been doing for the last several years is the word I would never have used before, never would have used with any of the four presidents I worked for: He lies. He lies about things, and he gets away with it because people will not hold him accountable." Colin Powell, former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Speaking of President Trump, on June 7, 2020 Finally, we are hearing a voice from the Republican Party, acknowledging that the Republian leadership in government and congress are major contributors to the disentangling of the democratic fabric of our county. While there has never been as divisive a President as Donald Trump, every American should realize that the problem is not just with a single leader but with an entire entrenched system that has come to depend on and embrace the manipulation, intimidation, and disinformation his every word and action exemplifies. We must take action against this oppressive regime and call on all who enable it to step aside now.

This is to save what is left of the United States. We as Americans have to do our part in making sure we save our country.

Measles has been on the rise for the past couple of years in Tarrant county. The majority of deaths from measles are under the age of 5. Additionally, in 2019, Tarrant County was 1 of 25 counties in the US which were most at risk for an outbreak of measles. We need to protect our children and those who may not be able to protect themselves.

South Carolina has effectively bent the COVID19 curve by following a stay-at-home order for several weeks. Knowing that asymptomatic people can spread the virus, the only way to continue to control the epidemics while safely reopening the economy is to require people to wear a mask in public places and at work, in addition to appropriate social distancing. If I am fortunate enough to have a job that allows me to work from home and choose to only shop in retails where customers and employees are required to wear face protection, I am confident that extending this rule to every business would allow a lot more people to feel safer going out. Our economy would then restart much faster!

Let's show the President and his administration what 100,000 of something looks like. To date, finding 100,000 deaths in the US from COVID-19 during the past 4 months describes a ridiculously large number - a total exceeded (for example) only by the total US military deaths from either the 4+ years of WW II or the 4+ years American Civil War. Ranking 3rd on that list is not an achievement of which to be proud That the 100,000 deaths happened so swiftly, in so many locales, and with so little recognition of the actual spread of the virus speaks to the total lack of sincere concern for all those affected and in particular of the empty expressions of empathy to all the patients, their families and loved ones, as well as the medical and support staffs and organizations who ran toward the pandemic to help rather than retire to some more serene place of safety. 100,000 deaths and the corresponding muddled and ineffective efforts offered by the Executive leadership stands out as clearly as the pervasive absence of any continuing care or concern about the public at large. The mixed messages, fits and starts of policy or proclamation, and valuing of business results over peoples' health, lives, families, futures and contributions to society tells the shockingly dismissive story of what matters to the rich and powerful. We can inform our President and his associates of the real magnitude of concern by signing this petition in multiple hundreds of thousands so as to dwarf the sad effects of their feckless attempts to downplay the realities of the issues. Let's cap the many signatures with a tearful emoji from each signer!

Montana's governor announced on May 19 that we are entering Phase 2 of reopening the Big Sky at the end of this month for "business as usual." The 14-day quarantine for non-work-related arrivals in Montana is being eliminated. We believe, however, that it is the state's primary job to ensure that all Montanans remain secure, safe, and healthy. Phase 2, as it relates to travelers coming to Montana starting June 1, fails that test. This Memorial Day weekend and week, when we begin to mourn the 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in America, we are entering the season when the vast majority of people discover Montana: summer vacation (plenty of people will be taking them—and deserve, too!). Normally we are a very attractive destination: everyone loves the “Big Sky”, whether they’ve been here or not. Why not this year? They’ll love us, even more, when they discover that Montana is “where there is no virus." Because Montana is a big blank spot on the nation's COVID-19 map, a second wave of COVID-19 infection in Montana, due to out-of-state travelers, has to be prevented now. It takes too much time to effectively protect our children once the virus is allowed to respread in our communities. We need to be prepared for this next wave—starting at the beginning of the summer—in order to build confidence that our kids can go to school in the fall. It's as simple as this: stop the viral spread of COVID-19 at our border. P.S. I wrote about how and why I started this petition at The Montana Post, https://themontanapost.com/blog/2020/05/23/guest-post-where-there-is-no-virus.

Coronavirus is wreaking havoc across the entire world. Hundreds of thousands of people have already died (nearly 100,000 Americans alone), and the disease is spreading by the day. As long as vaccines and treatments remain unattainable, people will continue to get sick and die. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Oxfam has called on world leaders to come together, and take concrete steps to ensure that we find a vaccine for Coronavirus as quickly as possible. The leaders of South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, and Pakistan have already pledged their support to a People’s Vaccine, as has the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown. We are now calling on the White House and U.S. Congress to sign on and pledge full support for a People’s Vaccine. As per Oxfam’s People’s Vaccine campaign, the commitments include the following: ***A mandatory worldwide pooling of patents and sharing of all COVID-19-related knowledge, data and technologies in order to ensure that any nation can produce or buy affordable doses of vaccines, treatments and tests. ***The rapid establishment of an equitable global manufacturing and distribution plan for all vaccines, treatments and tests that is fully funded by rich nations and which guarantees transparent “at true cost prices” and supplies in accordance with need rather than the ability to pay. This would include urgent action to massively increase manufacturing capacity to produce the vaccines in sufficient quantities and train and recruit millions of health workers to distribute them. ***A guarantee that COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests are provided free of charge to everyone, everywhere, with priority given to frontline workers, vulnerable people, and poor countries with the least capacity to save lives. If U.S. leaders signed onto this agreement, the impact would be felt worldwide: It would open the door for more leaders of Western countries to support this agreement, as well. We will undoubtedly quicken the process of finding treatment for Coronavirus by all coming together and pooling together resources and knowledge -- hundreds of thousands of lives (and possibly more) would be saved, and immeasurable pain and suffering will have been prevented. More information: "World leaders unite in call for a people’s vaccine against COVID-19,” May 14, 2020. https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/world-leaders-unite-call-peoples-vaccine-against-covid-19 "OPEN LETTER: Uniting Behind A People’s Vaccine Against COVID-19," Oxfam International, Medium, May 13, 2020. https://medium.com/@Oxfam/uniting-behind-a-peoples-vaccine-against-covid-19-87eec640976

H.R. 6666, otherwise known as the COVID-19 Testing, Reaching, and Contacting Everyone (TRACE) Act, was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on 5/1/2020. This bill is sponsored by Representative Bobby Rush (D) of Illinois District 1. The bill has 59 cosponsors, 58 Democrats and 1 Republican. Summary H.R. 6666 provides 100 billion dollars this year and unlimited federal funding in future years to create and operate a massive and likely unconstitutional surveillance, testing, and tracing enforcement system under the guise of “protecting” Americans against coronavirus. H.R. 6666 is a federal funding bill. It proposes to create a surveillance infrastructure that can be used by the federal government, as well as local and state governments and private businesses, to require medical testing and tracking of all citizens in violation of fundamental civil liberties as set forth in the Bill of Rights, which include the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution designed to protect individual rights and limit the power of the government. H.R. 6666 lacks safeguards and conditions related to funding of the proposed surveillance operation to prevent it from being applied to intrusive programs mandating testing and surveillance without an individual’s voluntary consent. If this legislation is passed by Congress and enacted into law, it could lead to denial of an individual’s right to appear in public spaces and travel; the right to employment and education or participation in government-funded services, and the right to receive care in a government funded hospital or other any other medical facility. H.R. 6666 specifically allows for funded entities to home quarantine a person against their will, even while they are healthy. Once a vaccine is available, the testing and tracing results potentially could be used to force individuals to be injected with a COVID-19 vaccine against their will. According to a Press Release from the sponsor Congressman Bobby L. Rush, “Reopening our economy and getting back to normal will be all but impossible if we do not step up our testing efforts and implement robust and widespread contact tracing,” said Rep. Rush. “Until we have a vaccine to defeat this dreaded disease, contact tracing in order to understand the full breadth and depth of the spread of this virus is the only way we will be able to get out from under this.” The Devil is in the Details H.R. 6666 would allow The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award federal grants to eligible entities to conduct diagnostic testing for COVID–19, to trace and monitor the contacts of infected individuals, and to support the quarantine of such contacts. Through the use of mobile health units, as necessary, individuals would be tested and provided with services related to testing and quarantine at their residences. The amount of money appropriated for fiscal year 2020 would be $100,000,000,000 (one hundred billion dollars) and more money may be appropriated by Congress as necessary for any subsequent fiscal year during which the emergency period continues. A grant recipient may use the federal grant funds, in support of the above referenced activities to hire, train, compensate, and pay the expenses of individuals; and to purchase personal protective equipment and other supplies. Priority will be given to applicants in “hot spots” and medically underserved communities and to entities that hire residents of the community where the activity will occur. Hot spots are defined as a geographic area where the rate of infection with the virus that causes COVID–19 exceeds the national average. Medically underserved communities are communities given that term in section 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p). Entities eligible for the grant money are defined as a federally qualified health center, school-based clinic, disproportionate share hospital, academic medical center, nonprofit organization, institute of higher education, high school, and any other type of entity as determined by the Secretary of HHS. H.R. 6666 Does Not Guarantee Privacy Section 2 (e) of H.R. 6666 is entitled “Federal Privacy Requirements”, but it does little to protect privacy. It states that “Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede any Federal privacy or confidentiality requirement, including the regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–191; 110 Stat. 2033) and section 543 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd–2). In actuality, H.R. 6666 offers few privacy protections for Americans who will be surveilled and tested without their consent under programs funded with this grant. In fact, Americans can expect their privacy to be violated under TRACE funded programs. That is because the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) 45 CFR 164.512(b)(1)(i) has always allowed disclosure of private health information to government officials and other government approved entities including foreign governments without the knowledge or consent of the individual for the purpose of conducting public health surveillance, investigations or interventions. Bill of Rights Cannot Be Suspended During A “Public Health Crisis” The Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution cannot be set aside by the federal government or state governments during pandemics or other public health emergencies. In The United States Statement of Interest in Support of Plaintiffs, filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a case last month in which church goers attending a drive-in sermon were issued citations for violating an executive order in Mississippi, the DOJ stated;

With six months to go until the November elections, the U.S. Senate has a waning opportunity to show our country what compassionate, bipartisan leadership looks like, and whether majority leader Mitch McConnell is capable of that leadership. His legacy will likely be defined by how the Senate meets this historic challenge. An obsessive focus on reshaping the federal judiciary will pale in comparison to an underwhelming and tepid response to the significant needs of our commonwealth and nation to meet the coronavirus crisis. Sen. McConnell's recent actions are deeply troubling. From stating, “Some of these governors, particularly the Democrat governors, it seems, enjoy this extra power over people’s lives, and ... the governors have been struck down, been overruled, for being sort of drunk with power at the opportunity to keep everybody locked up,” to recently saying that President Obama should "keep his mouth shut," and calling him "classless." This comes on the heels of his irresponsible suggestion that states should declare bankruptcy instead of expecting federal support. Please sign and share our petition to encourage Leader McConnell to make the most of the moment, and set a new, bipartisan direction for his leadership of the current Senate session.

As a small, woman-owned business, my boutique Pilates Studio has been classified as a gym or fitness center, and alongside cinemas with a 250+ person capacity, and in turn, my business has been shut down in advance of other non-essential businesses. We have been closed since March 16th, and while we have made every effort to generate revenue through virtual, online classes our monthly revenue has dropped below 5 percent of its regular value. To be clear, unlike gyms and fitness centers, boutique fitness studios and micro gyms have a typical capacity of 1-6 people. Most clients are seen 1-1 (instructor-client) up to 4-1 ratios as normal practice. Clients attend pre-scheduled sessions limited to this capacity. At no point are clients admitted to classes as walk-Ins, a physical appointment must be scheduled 12-24 hours in advance of their session. In addition, this industry is one of the few female-led and powered industries in existence. We estimate 75% of the owners and workers impacted by this crisis are women. I ask that you support the Petition to exclude boutique fitness studios and micro-gyms from the definition of of “Gyms” or “fitness centers,” and create independent directives applicable for the reduced footprint of the unique business models used by boutique fitness studios and micro-gyms. We respectfully request that Governor Whitmer open us along side other non-essential businesses who will reopen June1. As a boutique fitness studio and micro-gym, it can be argued that we are actually are an essential business as we see more than 60% of our clients in a therapeutic/rehabilitative manner, under the guidance of licensed physical therapists. Our industry has, and always will be committed to the health and wellbeing of all others. We want to reopen responsibly and as quickly as possible.As the studio owner, I can attest that my boutique fitness studio/ microgym appreciates the importance of employing several team members and supporting clients to become healthy with the least risk possible to their good health.