Congress is debating the contents of another recovery package as many are still reeling from the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. BPC's Bill Hoagland believes a new round of direct payments may be in our future. With COVID-19 cases again on the rise, Dr. Anand Parekh warns the country is not yet out of the woods; and with increased interest in mail-in ballots, Matthew Weil explains why we could see a delay in election results come November.

Congress should be applauded for trying to act quickly in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others. However, in the case of the current police reform bills under consideration, Congress is making serious unforced errors, potentially dooming solutions to deep-rooted and long-unaddressed issues of racial inequity and injustice.

A bachelor’s degree is one of the single most effective pathways to economic mobility in America today. Yet the promise of higher education as an engine of economic opportunity belies persistent racial disparities throughout the higher education pipeline—from access and enrollment to employment and loan repayment outcomes. BPC's Higher Education team outlined four bipartisan improvements to federal policy that would work to address these longstanding racial inequities.

The economic recession resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected Black Americans. While no set of policies will make racial and economic disparities vanish overnight, there are bipartisan solutions that can build more secure financial futures for Black Americans and help reduce the gaps between white and minority households.