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Speaker Pelosi’s new COVID-19 proposal seeks to address the unprecedented health and economic crises our nation faces with measures substantial enough both to provide strong support for the economy and to ease hardship significantly for tens of millions of Americans, many of whom are in increasingly desperate straits.
In the absence of such a package, important relief provisions will expire much too soon, with one key provision for unemployed workers ending in less than 80 days. State and local governments – which face huge revenue shortfalls in their new fiscal year – will be compelled to institute massive budget cuts or tax increases and lay off large numbers of teachers and other employees, making the downturn substantially worse than it already is.
People in large numbers are losing jobs and health coverage and facing hunger, the threat of eviction, and other serious hardships. Growing numbers of businesses are facing collapse. The severity and scope of the crisis require a robust response.
The Pelosi package, while not perfect, steps up to the plate and provides the type of response the nation needs.
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