The coronavirus pandemic affects everything from public health and the economy to election legitimacy. BPC's Dr. Anand Parekh and Bill Hoagland gave their analysis on the latest coronavirus updates and the current state of the economy. Also, this past week BPC hosted a webcast exploring the major election legitimacy concerns facing the country as we move toward November.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the health care challenges that have long plagued rural communities, and underscores why recent recommendations from BPC’s Rural Health Task Force are now more important than ever.

COVID-19 began as a public health crisis, but the economic fallout has proven devastating, too. To help Americans weather the storm, lawmakers enacted an expansion of unemployment insurance in the CARES Act. With the supplemental $600 set to expire at the end of July, lawmakers must chart a path forward that is consistent with protecting public health, supporting those without work, and maximizing employment.

The federal government has sole authority to admit immigrants, to determine how many immigrants to admit, and to create criteria for admission. The current immigration system does not address the specific needs of each state and a new law could expand the role for state governments, allowing them to design a system tailored to their constituents’ needs and generate fiscal and economic gains for their communities.