Ruiz, Barragán, Correa, Porter Call On Senate To Pass Heroes Act Without Delay

Palm Desert, CA – Representatives Ruiz (CA-36), Barragán (CA-44), Correa (CA-46), Lieu (CA-33), and Porter (CA-45) held a call with regional reporters today calling on the Senate to take up the Heroes Act, which the House passed in May. The Heroes Act would protect the paychecks of frontline workers, provide direct payments of up to $6,000 for families who are struggling, extend expanded unemployment benefits that will expire at the end of the month if the Senate fails to act, support small businesses, and invest in the testing needed to reopen our economy safely.

The Heroes Act also supports health care workers, fire, transportation, EMS, teachers and other vital workers by making sure state, local, territorial, and tribal governments have the funds they need to pay these workers. If the Senate refuses to act, these workers are at risk of losing their jobs.

"Cities, tribes, and local governments have incurred extraordinary expenses and lost revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic," said Dr. Ruiz. "The Heroes Act provides the necessary funds for our local governments to protect the firefighters, frontline health care providers, transportation workers, EMTs, teachers, and other workers in vital roles from losing their jobs. The Senate must bring the Heroes Act for a vote immediately to protect workers and families in our district."

"This continues to be an incredibly difficult period for our country. The profound loss of life we've seen is tragic and unacceptable," said Congressman Ted Lieu. "As Americans, we must continue to trust scientists and health experts to help guide us through this. As a Congressman, I will continue to fight for measures that help Americans struggling. The Heroes Act reflects House Democrats' commitment to saving lives and protecting families and workers. We need the Senate to act with the same commitment in mind so that we can get support to those who need it most."

"My District has the highest unemployment rate in the state of California. More than one-out-of-every-four people in my district is unemployed. The $600-per-week federal unemployment benefit is extremely important to them and without the HEROES Act, that crucial benefit will expire at the end of this month," said Congresswoman Barragan. "Two of the questions I get most from constituents are 1) is their $600-per-week benefit is about to end, and 2) what are we in Washington are doing to extend it. I have to tell them that the House voted to keep that benefit through the end of January 2021, but it is not law because the Senate refuses to even give it a vote."

"After months of struggling with the coronavirus, it is clear that this pandemic is here to stay for the long term," said Congressman Correa said. " "Just as we did following the dreaded attack on September 11th, Americans need to adjust to this new way of life. We must think long-term, and take steps to make sure our families and small businesses are able to survive. The Heroes Act gives families and business owners the resources they need to persevere and prevent our economy from slipping into a major recession."

"Supporting healthcare workers, first responders, and teachers is not and should not be a partisan issue," said Congresswoman Porter. "The Heroes Act would provide nearly $2 billion in relief over the next two years to Orange County and local governments here, and mayors and city councilmembers in my district—a group of mostly Republicans—have been united in asking for federal aid. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Trump need to act to get Orange County communities the help we need."

The Heroes Act also includes three of Dr. Ruiz's legislative priorities:

• Care for COVID-19 2.0, which requires health plans to cover treatment related to COVID-19, at no cost to the patient. Also creates a special enrollment period through the exchange so that people without insurance can sign up for coverage, like the state of California has done.

• Environmental Justice COVID-19, which provides $50 million for environmental justice grant programs to monitor pollution and investigate COVID-19's impact on environmental justice communities.
• Tribal Health Care Protection Fund, which provides the Indian Health Service, Tribal Health Programs, and Urban Indian Organizations with relief funding to keep them financially viable and able to continue providing care.
  • Dr. Ruiz led 46 bipartisan Members in signing a letter to Speaker Pelosi pushing for this fund.

Background

The Heroes Act provides California governments and local communities on the frontlines of this crisis with robust, desperately needed funding to cover coronavirus-related outlays and revenue loss and pay health care workers, police, fire, transportation, EMS, teachers, and other vital workers who keep us safe and are in danger of losing their jobs.

In addition to resources for our state, local, tribal and territorial governments, the Heroes Act provides transformative, far-reaching support to protect the lives and livelihoods of the American people and the life of our democracy.

• Provides strong support for our heroes by establishing a $200 billion Heroes' fund to ensure that essential workers across the country receive hazard pay.
• Commits another $75 billion for the testing, tracing, and treatment we need in order to have a science-based path to safely reopen our country and help ensure that every American can access free coronavirus treatment.
• Puts money in the pockets of workers with a second round of $1,200 direct payments to individuals (up to $6,000 per household), new payroll protection measures to keep 60 million workers connected with their jobs, and extended the additional weekly $600 federal unemployment payments through next January.
• Supports small businesses by strengthening the Payroll Protection Program to ensure that it reaches underserved communities and nonprofits of all sizes and responds flexibly to small businesses by providing $10 billion for COVID-19 emergency grants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
• Ensures further support for Californians and all Americans, including for:
  • Health security – with COBRA subsidies and a special enrollment period in the ACA exchanges for those without insurance.
  • Workplace security – requiring OSHA to ensure that all workplaces develop science-based infection control plans and preventing employers from retaliating against workers who report problems.
  • Housing security – with $175 billion in new support to assist renters and homeowners in paying monthly rent, mortgage, utility payments, and other housing-related costs.
  • Food security – with a 15 percent increase to the maximum SNAP benefit and additional funding for nutrition programs that help families put food on the table.

The Heroes Act follows the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act enacted on April 24; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27; the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted on March 18; and the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act enacted on March 6. A one pager on the Heroes Act is available here.

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