Fellow Conservative,

Just as a healthy population makes for a healthy economy, so too does a healthy economy make for a healthy people.

Recognizing this, President Trump introduced the Opening Up America Again plan this past Thursday.

We applaud President Trump’s leadership in putting forward a plan that acknowledges the importance of both public health and the economy, and the relationship each has on the other.

The new plan follows a three-phase process that gradually reopens the country on a state-by-state basis. Based on public health conditions, each state will ease quarantine orders and increasingly resume normal business operations, while implementing policies to protect those segments of the population that are most vulnerable to the coronavirus.

President Trump also announced this past week the formation of a working group of industry and policy leaders to advise the White House and help lead the country back towards unparalleled American prosperity. The group consists of CEOs and executives from America’s most successful industries as well as heads of policy organizations, such as The Heritage Foundation President Kay C. James.

Help Local Businesses - Call Congress!

In the past four weeks, more than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment, and now 7.5 million small businesses are at risk of closing permanently.

And on April 16, the Paycheck Protection Program ran out of money, leaving millions of small businesses unable to access these lifeline loans to help them to continue to pay their employees.

Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer are currently blocking any additional funding for this program.

You can help small businesses and their employees:

1. Call your Member of Congress and leave a voicemail (Congress is checking their voicemails). Ask your Senators and Representative to support funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) without unrelated funding attached.
2. Share this video on Twitter and Facebook, raising awareness for the Paycheck Protection Program and the need to fund it.

The Kindness of Grassroots Activists

We’ve been inspired by the many stories of service you have shared with us. We’ve been collecting and sharing them on social media all week, and we want to share them again here.

We applaud these acts of selfless service, as well as all those that go unreported:

• Texas teenager Ian McKenna has been sharing both fresh crops and seeds in his community so families struggling to provide during the COVID-19 crisis can grow food at home!
• Determined to help slow the spread among the deaf and hard of hearing community, college senior Ashley Lawrence decided to make special masks with a clear window for the lips so that they could communicate and stay safe at the same time.
• In California, volunteers at the Rock Church are working around the clock to restore 300,000 defective N95 masks for medical workers. These masks will help protect workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 response.
• In Iowa, food banks have actually seen an increase in donations during the coronavirus pandemic.
• America’s Food Fund has raised over $14 million in the past couple of weeks to make sure that every American stays fed and healthy during this crisis.
• In Alaska, 30 faith-based organizations have come together to form the Alaska Faith Leaders COVID-19 Task Force and pool resources to ensure every community receives care.
• Convoy of Hope is driving across the country and working with churches, businesses, and volunteers to donate ten million meals to those in need. It's supported by donations and volunteers -- Americans helping their neighbors.
• In the D.C. suburbs, Bethany Mandel has started Kosher19 to deliver Kosher food to over 5,000 healthcare workers during the coronavirus.
• In Virginia, the Virginia Dare Dress Company is donating portions of every purchase to provide respirators and fabric masks to nurses and doctors at the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.
• And last but not least, Heritage Action Sentinel Fran Rhodes and her church sewing group have made more than 300 masks for Texans in need.

It’s in times like this that the American spirit shines through. If you would like to help in your community, we have compiled many ideas for service.

Thank you for all you do, both in serving your community and holding Congress accountable!

-Jessica and the Heritage Action Team