• Total positives: 65,392
• Total negatives: 293,244
• Total fatalities: 4,869
• Chester County - positives/fatalities: 2,267 / 238
• Berks County - positives/fatalities: 3,784 / 279

Last week, I hosted my 8th Coronavirus Virtual Town Hall, this time focused on mental health. If you were not able to participate, you can find a full audio recording here.

It's crucial that during this pandemic we are taking care of ourselves, physically and mentally. I convened local experts from the Berks Counseling Center and the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Chester County to discuss and share resources on all aspects of mental health. For a full list of counseling hotlines, please click here. 
                                 

Rep. Houlahan answers coronavirus-related questions submitted by Downingtown middle schoolers.

This week, I also hosted two student town halls, one with Avon Grove High School and another with Downingtown Middle School. I got to hear from students in our community about their questions regarding COVID-19 and the legislative process. I was inspired by their thoughtful questions—a testament to their hardworking teachers even amidst this crisis. 

Launched: Comprehensive List of Our Office's COVID-19 Response

There is a lot of information to process these days, which is why we wanted to make it easier to see how our office is working on behalf of our community. We just launched a webpage that outlines a comprehensive list of our efforts—take a look!

Introduced: Strategic National Public Health Corps Legislation and Debt Relief for Our Frontline Health Care Workers

As a former AmeriCorps member, I was so proud to lead a bipartisan coalition of service-minded Congressional members to establish a new branch of national service – a National Public Health Corps. This Corps will help fill the personnel gaps in our health care sector right now and allow us to adequately test, track and trace, and perhaps even to vaccinate our citizenry. In order to get to the other side of this pandemic and return to some semblance of normalcy, we need many, many more people who will be the boots on the ground to carry out these duties. As many people enter a turbulent and uncertain economy, this new national service branch has the potential to help put them on an impactful career path and give back to their communities. The National Public Health Corps will mobilize service-minded individuals to do this sort of work in response to this pandemic and beyond.

This week, I also joined Representatives Shalala and Scanlon in introducing the Pandemic Responder Service Award Act. This legislation seeks to thank the millions of frontline health care workers for their service in keeping America safe throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also a Senate version of this bill being led by our Senator, Bob Casey. 

Specifically, the legislation proposes an award for front line health care workers who responded to the COVID-19 pandemic that can be used to pay off existing student loans, to obtain further education or to establish a savings account to help health care workers purchase housing, start a business, save for retirement or establish a children’s savings account for their dependents.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, our frontline health care workers have resoundingly and bravely answered the call to serve. This is personal to me as my brother is a nurse. I’ve been inspired by their bravery in our community and across the country. The Pandemic Responder Service Award Act is meant to begin the process of stepping up for our health care workers as they have so selflessly stepped up for all of us.

This bill includes a wide range of priorities important to my community and several bills that I was proud to help lead:

• I led the effort to ensure that the 50,000 seniors on Medicare Advantage in Chester and Berks counties won’t see higher costs due to COVID-19.
• I helped craft amendments to the Defense Production Act after hearing from members of our community that had shipments of PPE diverted by the Federal government at the last minute. I ensured this bill includes a requirement for the Federal government to notify and work with state and local governments to replace any shipment of critical medical supplies that is diverted. 
• The bill includes $500 billion for state and $375 billion for local governments, helping to replace lost revenue and make them whole for money spent on COVID-19 response. This has been a major priority for Governor Wolf and the leadership of Chester and Berks counties.
• The small business section includes many items that I advocated for after hearing from small business owners in my community: a carve out for micro-businesses, greater flexibility for PPP forgiveness and better transparency and reporting. The Heroes Act adds flexibility in the PPP covered period for borrowers by extending the 8-week period to 24 weeks and extends the covered period from June 30 to December 31.
• The bill requires the CDC to develop a comprehensive, national strategy to provide diagnostic and serologic testing, contact tracing, and recovery. This will better enable our communities to safely reopen and get back to work without risking another wave of infections.

• The IRS is still working on getting stimulus payments out to all eligible Americans. It is not clear right now how long this will take, so be sure to keep an eye out on your bank account or your mailbox. The Treasury Department has told us that all social security beneficiaries should be receiving their payments soon. To track where your payment is, please go to "Get My Payment" which can be found on www.irs.gov.

• If you filed your 2018 taxes, your 2019 taxes and/or you receive social security, disability, or veterans benefits, then you will be getting your stimulus payment automatically. There is nothing more you need to do at this time. To see a FAQ page regarding Economic Impact Payments, click here.