MADISON, Wis. – Vice President Mike Pence thanked workers at a manufacturing plant in Wisconsin on Tuesday for their efforts in making sure that no person who needs a ventilator will be denied one during the coronavirus crisis.
His trip to see a GE Healthcare factory was condemned as a “political photo opportunity” by former Vice President Joe Biden. But Pence said he wanted to convey the gratitude of the president and an appreciative nation.
“No one who has needed a ventilator has been denied a ventilator because of all your efforts and what the American people have done,” he said. “That’s an incredible comfort to millions of Americans.”
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a new contract for GE to produce 50,000 ventilators by July 13 at a cost of $336 million. It came as part of President Trump’s pledge to deliver 100,000 ventilators, used to support the breathing of critically ill COVID-19 patients, in 100 days.
During a tour of the facility, Pence heard how the Madison plant had switched to 24-hour production with the introduction of three shifts. He was also told that the company’s design for an anesthesia machine had been modified to make it suitable as a ventilator for COVID-19 patients.
Among the workers he met was Tim King, 47, who was hired three weeks after having to close his children’s gym facility because of the coronavirus pandemic, laying off seven members of staff.
“Keep up the great work here,” said Pence. “You’re making a great difference.”
Many of the workforce were wearing “Union Machinists Save Lives” T-shirts.
“I’ll have to get one of those T-shirts,” said Pence as he walked the production line where staff had paused in their work testing components or assembling parts of the Carescape R860 ventilator
Sheila Jordan, Local 1406 Shop Committee chairwoman, said everyone had come together as soon as they had gotten the call to help — union and nonunion workers.
“We have a job to do. We have a world to save,” she said during a roundtable with staff.
Pence replied: “Would you please communicate our respect and admiration to every one of your members.”
However, the visit, while the country remains under the president’s guidelines to avoid unnecessary trouble, was not without controversy.
Biden accused the Trump administration of doing too little, too late.
“This attempt to use Wisconsin as the backdrop to a political photo opportunity comes as the state is suffering a devastating loss of life to COVID-19. Particularly in the African American community, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin workers have filed for unemployment in recent weeks, and Republicans drive dangerous efforts to prematurely end social distancing efforts,” he said.
However, Pence signaled that he is gradually returning to a full travel schedule. On Saturday, he visited Colorado Springs to deliver the commencement address at the Air Force Academy, and he announced that he will visit a GM plant, also producing ventilators, in Kokomo, Indiana, next week.
Before leaving the GE plant, he thanked workers over the public address system and promised that the supply of components would keep up with their mammoth scale of production.
“We’re going to continue to use the full weight of the federal government and the Defense Production Act to ensure you have the supplies,” he said.
