Sen. Bennet calls for investigation

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on Monday called for an investigation into the federal government’s response to the spread of the novel coronavirus in meatpacking plants across the country.

In a Monday letter to the inspector generals at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor, Bennet asks the agencies to investigate whether the outbreaks — such as one at the JBS USA Greeley beef plant where nearly 300 people were sickened and six died — were made worse by federal actions.

“We ask that you review steps the federal government took to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in these plants, if any, and how the President’s use of the Defense Production Act for meat processing facilities may have affected the health and wellbeing of workers,” the letter reads.

President Donald Trump used the act in late April to try to ensure meatpacking plants remained open as critical food producers despite the rising rates of coronavirus infections within plants.

In Colorado, at least seven meat processing plants have reported outbreaks infecting about 450 workers. The outbreak at the JBS Greeley beef plant is one of the largest in the state.

High-ranking federal officials did try to influence the response to the outbreak at the JBS Greeley plant, The Denver Post reported in July, with the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at one point calling a top state health official to suggest a course of action at the plant.