The heroes act

Everyone’s number one priority throughout the crisis is saving lives by ensuring people have access to free testing, resources they need to stop the spread and funding for our health care providers. 

​As your advocate in Congress, I fought to pass H.R 6201 – the Families First CoronaVirus Response Act, S. 3548 – the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, increase funding for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and H.R. 6800 – the HEROES Act. I voted in support of these bills to get resources to our frontline communities and relief to the millions of people affected by this crisis.

The most recent bill passed by the House – The Heroes Act – is under consideration in the Senate and includes a number of key provisions that will benefit our communities as we fight this pandemic, including:
​

• Nearly $1 trillion in support for state, local and tribal governments to pay for ongoing pandemic response efforts;
• $200 billion for a Heroes Fund to support hazard pay for essential workers;
• An additional $75 billion for COVID-19 testing and tracing, ensuring that every American can access free treatment, and support for hospitals;
• A second round of $1,200 direct cash payments to every American;
• Important employee safety and whistleblower protections;
• Additional support for small businesses and their employees;
• A special Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment period and COBRA subsidies to preserve health coverage for millions;
• An extension of the $600 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payments through January 2021;
• $175 billion in rental, mortgage, utility payment, and other housing assistance;
• A 15% increase to the maximum SNAP benefit and additional funding for food assistance programs;
• Provisions to save the U.S. Postal Service and secure mail in voting for every American.

While these relief bills are a good start, I know that our communities need sustainable resources and support delivered directly to the people. I am fighting to ensure that Congress puts people—not greedy corporations—first. This means getting our frontline medical workers the equipment and protection that they need to stay safe and save lives and authorizing more funds to purchase protective gear and ventilators. Congress must ensure that every worker has access to paid sick leave and hazard pay for those who must work, implement a nationwide halt to all evictions, foreclosures, and water/electrical shutoffs, address discrimination in the pandemic response, enact immediate student debt cancelation and relief, provide robust assistance to workers who have lost their income due to the emergency, support recurring direct cash assistance payments to every American for the duration of the crisis, and so much more. I am proud to have introduced the following bills to get help to our communities:

• The Automatic BOOST to Communities (ABC) Act – which would provide a U.S. Debit Card loaded with $2000 per month to every American for the duration of the pandemic and $1,000 monthly until one year after the end of the crisis.
• The Emergency Relief for State, Territorial and Local Governments Act – which calls on the Federal Reserve to commit to purchasing short-term municipal debt to lessen the debt burden on local governments and ensure that they have the resources required to fight COVID-19. Included in The Heroes Act!
• The Public Health Emergency Shelter Act – which would provide $15.5 billion in emergency grants to help those facing homelessness. Included in the HEROES Act!
• The Emergency Water is a Human Right Act – which would prohibit water shutoffs and provide funds to state and tribal governments to assist low-income households pay their water bills. Included in The Heroes Act