Tell Congress: Ensure that Next Round COVID-19 Legislation Protects the Most Vulnerable

From the Coalition on Human Needs (http://www.chn.org):

Congress has taken the first steps to respond to the fast-moving global pandemic by passing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which will provide immediate paid sick leave and paid family leave to millions of people, expanded unemployment insurance, vital nutrition aid, more Medicaid funds for states, and free COVID-19 testing.

This legislation is an essential first step toward putting the needs of lower-income and vulnerable people first. But there is much more work that needs to be done to adequately respond to our nation’s public health emergency and ensure our economy doesn’t reach Depression-era levels.

Now, Senate Republicans have drafted a plan that helps business without enough protections for workers, and gives little or no aid to people who need help the most. Their bill does not shore up states’ capacity to provide the help we will all need to get through this.

Write to your members of Congress now at https://actionnetwork.org/letters/covid-comprehensive/, calling for the swift passage of a next round of legislation to avert economic disaster by ensuring that those most in need have income to spend and that states, localities, and nonprofits can provide the health care and other services we depend upon.

The Coalition on Human Needs has brought together more than 200 organizations concerned with the disproportionate impact of the disease itself and the related economic harms on low-income and vulnerable people. These experts in nutrition, health care, housing, immigrant issues, education, labor and employment, family services, and many other critical services recognize the urgency of acting to protect those who are least able to withstand the threats to their income and health COVID-19 represents.

Throughout the Great Recession, we learned that providing income support to low-income people through SNAP and unemployment insurance and providing more Medicaid funding to states were the most effective ways to re-start the economy while offering vital protections to the people who need it most. All of that applies in this crisis, and more so: not only is our economy at risk, but our lives.

There is no shortage of tasks before Congress to address the pandemic and looming recession, including increasing federal Medicaid payment to states, providing more nutrition assistance, ensuring more workers have paid leave, expanding unemployment insurance, preventing evictions, and making sure people with disabilities can get the medications and care they need. We must build on provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to ensure free COVID-19 testing to all, and make sure that people who test positive get treatment. We must protect health care and other workers so they can do their vital jobs without fear.

Write to Congress today. Tell them they must act now!

With our voices united together, we will also call upon Congress to develop protections for immigrants by suspending immigration enforcement which deters families from seeking or obtaining testing or care.

We must develop legislation to protect people in congregate settings, including mental health facilities, homeless shelters, nursing homes, prisons, jails, juvenile detention or immigrant detention sites. Such group settings are particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

Homelessness and childcare must also be quickly addressed through legislative action. Together, we must demand funding to provide housing and shelter to people experiencing homelessness who are at increased risk of a coronavirus outbreak and create an emergency assistance fund to help prevent evictions and foreclosures. Financial relief is needed for childcare providers to ensure they can stay in business, with opportunities for parents to pay on a sliding scale because of financial strains caused by COVID-19.

Together, let’s demand Congress acts. Write to your members of Congress today and tell them we need a robust package of legislative fixes to deal with the spiraling number of challenges presented by this ongoing public health emergency.

The Coalition on Human Needs is an alliance of national organizations working together to promote public policies which address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable populations. This mission doesn’t change in times of a global public health emergency. But it does make it more urgent.

We need to unite our voices, and compel our lawmakers to act.