Congress Must Act Urgently to Stem This Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis has continued to deepen the already existing inequities experienced by the individuals and communities we serve.
As a human rights organization dedicated to equity and opportunity for all, we urge our nation’s leaders to swiftly step up and invest in bold solutions that will stem this crisis and lead us toward recovery. Congress must act now to assist people who are struggling to make ends meet and urgently invest in Black and Latinx communities, which continue to be disproportionately and deeply impacted.
In May, the House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act, which included important investments to assist Americans during this time. Now, the Senate must act with bold and truly responsive measures that will support those most impacted for as long as necessary.
Congress must:
- Redress deep racial inequities exacerbated by the pandemic: Provide targeted resources for Black and Latinx communities to receive personal protection equipment, coronavirus testing, and contact tracing support from community health workers;
- Help families keep food on the table: Increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance by 15%.;
- Provide direct cash assistance so families can meet their basic needs: Provide more inclusive, robust, and ongoing cash supports to families for the duration of the economic crisis. This must include people who were left out of the first round of stimulus checks, such as undocumented workers and people who are part of mixed-immigration status households. When extending additional payments, implement our recommendations in order to ensure that people who should receive a payment, do receive one quickly;
- Fund state infrastructure: Provide states with significant resources that they can use to adequately fund all of the critical supports that help our communities thrive, such as health and human services;
- Increase access to homes and housing stability supports: Extend the national moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, and late payment fees for all renters and homeowners, including renters in the private market and holders of privately-backed mortgages, and provide significant investments in emergency rental assistance. Invest deeply in Emergency Solutions Grants and public housing agencies, housing providers, and new emergency Housing Choice Vouchers;
- Support pathways to employment and economic opportunity: Create subsidized employment and transitional jobs programs to get people to work when it is safe to do so. When the job market improves, provide ongoing funding for employment, training, education, and supportive services for jobseekers who face barriers to employment; and
- Maintain critical unemployment insurance for displaced workers: Extend the increased amount and expanded types of workers who can apply for unemployment insurance for the duration of the crisis, based on labor market indicators.
It will take bold leadership to overcome the immense harm caused by this crisis and the centuries of inequities that preceded it.
