Merkley, Wyden COVID-19 news releases Friday
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Here are four news releases issued Friday by Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., addressing various efforts to relieve the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak:
Merkley, Wyden Push To Protect Working Families from Utility Shut Offs in Next Coronavirus Relief Package
Heat, water, electricity, and internet are critical to public health and safety and must not be cut off for families in the midst of a crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Senator Merkley’s fellow co-chairs of the Senate Environmental Justice Caucus and four other senators, today pressed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to include protections for Americans against utility shut-offs in the next coronavirus relief package.
“As closures and quarantines disrupt and eliminate income for many American families, low-wealth communities and communities of color are particularly at risk of being disconnected by utilities due to lack of payment,” the senators wrote. “As part of a third COVID-19 package, Congress must protect at risk Americans by instituting a nationwide moratorium on all electricity, water, telecommunications, broadband and other utility-shut offs and providing financial assistance for low-wealth households.”
With thousands of Americans losing their jobs each day and small businesses struggling, many American families will face a difficult shortfall when it comes time to pay their next utility bills. The coronavirus pandemic, in which many families are self-quarantining inside their homes, and millions of workers and small business owners need internet to telework, will surely amplify the consequences of utility shut-offs.
“The continuation of utility services is critical in this COVID-19 emergency,” the senators continued. “Low-wealth communities and communities of color, including black and Indigenous peoples, are being disproportionately harmed by this emergency. Low-wage jobs are at greatest risk of being reduced or lost during this crisis. Our most vulnerable elderly populations need electricity to run life-saving medical equipment, keep medications refrigerated, and keep their homes at liveable temperatures. As many Americans are working from, or quarantined, in their homes, it is essential that utility services continue uninterrupted. This is the only way to ensure people have access to clean water for handwashing and disinfecting surfaces to slow the outbreak. Access to electricity ensures that families can turn the lights on, have refrigerated food to eat, and continue a basic standard of living. Continuity of broadband access is necessary to ensure employees who can work from home continue to do so and that children that are out of school can access educational resources online. Allowing people to be productive in their homes will facilitate the necessary social distancing required to mitigate the dire impacts of this pandemic.”
Merkley previously led a push for a nationwide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures during the crisis, which the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development embraced on Wednesday.
The senators’ call echoes concerns voiced by 575 organizations across America—including the NAACP, the Sunrise Movement, Center for Biological Diversity, Partnership for Southern Equity, and the Sierra Club—in a letter sent to the National Governors Association, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, United States Conference of Mayors, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, American Public Power Association, and Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.
In addition to Merkley and Wyden, the letter was signed by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Kamala Harris (D-CA).
The full text of the senators’ letter is available follows below.
###
Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer,
In the midst of the public health and economic emergency caused by the COVID-19 crisis, we urge you to protect the most vulnerable Americans from the dangers and insecurity that result from utility shut-offs. As closures and quarantines disrupt and eliminate income for many American families, low-wealth communities and communities of color are particularly at risk of being disconnected by utilities due to lack of payment. As part of a third COVID-19 package, Congress must protect at risk Americans by instituting a nationwide moratorium on all electricity, water, telecommunications, broadband and other utility-shut offs and providing financial assistance for low-wealth households. A moratorium would provide temporary relief during this COVID-19 crisis, but more needs to be done to address the systemic issues driving these injustices across America.
The continuation of utility services is critical in this COVID-19 emergency. Low-wealth communities and communities of color, including black and Indigenous peoples, are being disproportionately harmed by this emergency. Low-wage jobs are at greatest risk of being reduced or lost during this crisis. Our most vulnerable elderly populations need electricity to run life-saving medical equipment, keep medications refrigerated, and keep their homes at liveable temperatures. As many Americans are working from, or quarantined in, their homes, it is essential that utility services continue uninterrupted. This is the only way to ensure people have access to clean water for handwashing and disinfecting surfaces to slow the outbreak. Access to electricity ensures that families can turn the lights on, have refrigerated food to eat, and continue a basic standard of living. Continuity of broadband access is necessary to ensure employees who can work from home continue to do so and that children that are out of school can access educational resources online. Allowing people to be productive in their homes will facilitate the necessary social distancing required to mitigate the dire impacts of this pandemic.
It is admirable that some utilities have taken voluntary steps to prevent utility disconnections during this crisis and some states have taken orders. However, we need to recognize and reinforce these steps by requiring all utilities to provide robust protections to their customers and provide utilities support so they can do so. Both homeowners and businesses should be protected from utility disconnections. All utilities including electric, gas, water, telecommunications, and Internet Service Providers should be subject to the moratorium on shut-offs. In addition to preventing shut-offs, utility companies should be required to suspend late fees and all fees associated with reconnections indefinitely. Given the uncertainty in the length of the COVID-19 pandemic, we should keep these policies in place at least until the pandemic threat has passed and the country’s economy has stabilized.
The COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the systemic problem of energy insecurity in the United States and its impacts on low-wealth communities. As Congress enacts legislation to speed the economic recovery of our country, we need policies to permanently increase economic security for black, Indigenous and other People of Color. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has called for the establishment of a universal right to uninterrupted energy service. The NAACP advocates for policies to prevent utility disconnection due to non-payment, including an end to power shut-offs during extreme temperatures, and for programs to help customers pay their bills and improve energy efficiency in their homes.[1] These circumstances are particularly exacerbated in light of the climate emergency and increased climate-induced weather events, including extreme heat waves and flooding, which necessitate the uninterrupted access to electricity and other utilities.
Legislation must also build infrastructure to support distributed renewable energy and provide incentives to expand broadband access in rural areas. Distributed energy systems decrease community dependence on dirty fossil fuels and provide resilient power during extreme climate related weather events. Now is the time for our country to take bold action to protect communities most at risk by promoting energy democracy for all communities.
Sincerely,
Wyden Calls for Increased Funding for Schools and Education Support Professionals Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called for increased federal funding for schools and school employees, such as cafeteria staff, bus drivers, and custodians, who are working overtime to support their communities during the coronavirus pandemic.
As the pandemic continues, schools are continuing to provide essential services in their communities, from providing meals to implementing distance-learning to serving as community hubs. Given these demands, Wyden, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, D-Colo. and their colleagues requested additional funding for schools and their employees.
“From offering distance learning to converting their buildings into food distribution centers for low income families and childcare facilities for children of health care workers and emergency responders—school staff are an essential part of a multi-faceted response to the unprecedented challenges of the coronavirus,” wrote Wyden and his colleagues to Senate appropriators. “We request that you provide funds to compensate classified hourly workers, such as cafeteria staff, school bus drivers, and janitorial staff, who are serving in various capacities as front line responders to the coronavirus outbreak. We need to assist those who are expanding the ways in which they carry forward the mission and vision of our public schools.”
Across the country, many schools whose budgets were already stretched thin have stepped up to respond to the pandemic by not only adapting to the challenges of distance learning, but also by expanding outreach in their communities by providing healthy meals to students and families, updating parents and guardians as the pandemic evolves, and adopting more rigorous cleaning practices to limit the virus’ spread. Increased federal funding is essential to ensuring schools nationwide can continue this vital work.
“The health and safety of our school communities is of the greatest concern right now. The federal government must offer additional funds to comprehensively cover school staff’s response to this emergency and support their efforts to promote the long-term health of our communities. These workers are an essential part of our emergency response to COVID-19 and the virus presents a grave danger to their health. We must invest in their well-being to ensure they remain part of our pandemic mitigation efforts and continue to sustain the health, safety, and support of our students, families, and communities,” the senators concluded.
In addition to Wyden and Bennet, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Ed Markey, D-Mass., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Tina Smith, D-Minn., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J.
The text of the letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education & Related Agencies is available here.
MERKLEY, COLLEAGUES PUSH FOR CRITICAL SUPPORT FOR HIGHER ED STUDENTS, SCHOOLS AMID CORONAVIRUS-RELATED CAMPUS CLOSURES
Friday, March 20, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—along with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Gary Peters (D-MI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)—today urged Senate leadership to include essential support provisions for students, colleges, and universities in the third coronavirus emergency relief bill.
The senators explained in their letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader, and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee—Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray—that colleges and universities across America have risked their long-term financial stability in the interest of the public’s health, and are in dire need of support.
“COVID-19 has jeopardized the health, learning, and livelihoods of millions of vulnerable students, and threatens to further destabilize the institutions of higher education upon which our nation depends,” the senators wrote. “Universities and colleges have taken unprecedented steps to respond to the global pandemic. From identifying new ways to deliver classes online to implementing necessary campus-wide closures, our public and private nonprofit institutions, including historically black colleges and universities, have moved rapidly to protect countless students and employees across the country.”
“As a result, colleges and universities face significant losses in revenue and face new, unexpected costs. These institutions rely on tuition; an anticipated decline in international and domestic enrollment would be devastating. It is highly doubtful that our higher education systems can continue operations, employment, and teaching without timely stop-gap funding from Congress,” the senators continued.
Specific requests outlined in the letter include protecting college and university students—many of whom depend on financial aid for their livelihood—from aid disruptions that could destabilize them and their families with no means of support, and emergency stop-gap funding for colleges and universities as they invest in remote learning tools.
The full text of the senators’ letter is available here and follows below.
###
Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray:
Thank you for your swift and robust action to alleviate the health and economic impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As you prepare for a third economic relief package, we respectfully urge you to prioritize substantial financial support for students and institutions of higher learning.
COVID-19 has jeopardized the health, learning, and livelihoods of millions of vulnerable students, and threatens to further destabilize the institutions of higher education upon which our nation depends. Universities and colleges have taken unprecedented steps to respond to the global pandemic. From identifying new ways to deliver classes online to implementing necessary campus-wide closures, our public and private nonprofit institutions, including historically black colleges and universities, have moved rapidly to protect countless students and employees across the country.
As a result, colleges and universities face significant losses in revenue and face new, unexpected costs. These institutions rely on tuition; an anticipated decline in international and domestic enrollment would be devastating. It is highly doubtful that our higher education systems can continue operations, employment, and teaching without timely stop-gap funding from Congress.
Several student and education advocates share our concerns and have proposed immediate assistance from Congress. These organizations include the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and the Association of American Universities.
We implore you to include vigorous financial assistance for students and higher education institutions in the forthcoming COVID-19 relief package. We ask you to prioritize the following measures:
- Protecting students from student aid disruptions: Students often depend on financial aid for their livelihood. Any disruption to that aid would destabilize students and their families who may have no other means of support. We request that student aid be retained regardless of changes in enrollment, work status, or circumstances which would otherwise jeopardize aid eligibility.
- Emergency stop-gap funding for colleges and universities: Remote learning and suspended campus activities are vital steps to limit further spread of the virus. We request robust stop-gap funding to support institutions as they deal with unprecedented disruption and transition to nontraditional learning and cultural environments.
We thank you for your support of these critical investments in our nation’s students and institutions of higher learning.
Sincerely,
MERKLEY, MURPHY, VAN HOLLEN PROPOSE ROBUST RESCUE PLAN FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZE BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS
“The Main Street Emergency Grant Program” Provides Liquidity for Businesses to Support Fixed Costs, Payroll to Help Them Stay Afloat During Crisis
Friday, March 20, 2020
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), on Friday rolled out a proposal that would provide much-needed liquidity for small- and medium-sized businesses during the economic crisis caused by COVID-19.
The Main Street Emergency Grant Program would allow small businesses to apply for grants through the Treasury Department to cover fixed costs like payroll and rent. Those grants would revert to loans that would have to be paid back only if the business fails to prove it is meeting criteria under the proposal. It would also allow mid-size businesses to access to forgivable loans.
“If we don’t act quickly, small businesses that have closed due to the coronavirus won’t reopen. This is a crisis I am seeing play out in Connecticut, with small businesses already laying off workers and weighing the need to close for good. They need cash to cover payroll, make rent, and meet their costs immediately, and a loan doesn’t cut it for them. The Main Street Emergency Grant Program will help companies stay afloat during this crisis. Our economy—and the American people—need this relief as soon as possible,” said Murphy.
“Small businesses in Oregon are getting hammered by the economic implosion triggered by the coronavirus. The same is certainly happening all across America,” said Merkley. “We need bold, urgent measures to help these businesses—and the families that rely on them—weather the storm. These grants are a critical part of that equation.”
“Small businesses are desperate for a cash infusion now – not two or three months down the road. This proposal will ensure capital is immediately available to the businesses that need it and help them weather the storm so they can avoid long-term, irreversible damage to their operations. It’s crucial that we provide this relief in Phase 3 to support small businesses and their employees,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“We support the Main Street Emergency Grant Program. It is essential that we work to immediately provide assistance to small business owners in impacted industries to support them to maintain their payroll and remain solvent through this crisis. This bill is an important ingredient in a response package that will help us avoid a prolonged economic crisis because it provides urgently needed liquidity to small businesses to keep their employees on payroll and avoid taking on too much debt,” said Amanda Ballantyne, Executive Director of the Main Street Alliance.
About the Main Street Emergency Grant Program
What is this proposal? The Main Street Emergency Grant Program would provide much needed liquidity to small and mid-size businesses during this public health crisis. Businesses would be able to apply for grants, not just loans, through the Treasury, with the application based on a percentage of expenses necessary for the survival of the business, and those grants would revert to loans if the business fails to prove it is meeting criteria under the proposal
Who will this help? Small businesses as defined in Section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632) and consistent with SBA size standards by industry for 2019, who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 health epidemic, through a reduction in revenue of at least 50%. Nonprofit organizations with under 500 employees are also eligible. Businesses who have been shut down due to state or local regulation would use an expedited process and other businesses could apply by showing hardship.
Midsize businesses and nonprofits with less than $100 million in revenues and less than 2000 employees that have seen at least a 50% reduction in revenue due to the COVID-19 epidemic would also be eligible for interest-free loans that could be forgiven if the program criteria are met.
Businesses would apply by showing an active business license, previous year’s payroll taxes, and income taxes. They would need to have been operating for at least six-months prior to enactment, and could include self-employed individuals.
What could they spend the money on? Businesses could spend the money on payrolls or fixed costs that are necessary to prevent the business from closing permanently, such as rent. The proposal also includes funding to raise awareness of Shared Work programs and provide technical assistance for participating businesses to implement this model, in which firms reduce hours for employees in order to avoid full layoffs
Is this proposal for a grant or a loan? For small businesses, these would be grants that would turn into loans should businesses fail to restore their payrolls to 80% of prior levels within 12 months of the termination of the COVID-19 public health emergency, unless the business can demonstrate a hardship that prevented them from doing so. For midsize businesses, these would be loans that turn into grants, based on the same rehiring criteria.
How much money does this program offer? The program would require an initial $600 billion, including necessary administrative expenses to quickly process applications. Businesses could apply for a re-up of the money quarterly so long as they are meeting requirements.
What role does Unemployment Insurance have? Along with this proposal, we need to significantly expand UI benefits and eligibility for workers who are laid off during the COVID-19 emergency, with this proposal helping to ensure that their jobs will be back once the emergency ends.
