Dear John,

For the past nine months, the coronavirus has roiled our communities -- claiming the lives of over 300,000 Americans, sickening over 8 million more, closing countless businesses, and costing tens of millions of people their jobs.

I’ve heard from working families who are struggling to keep food on the table for their families. From teachers who are doing everything they can, with too few resources, to teach their students remotely. From frontline health care workers who don’t have access to the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to stay safe. From rural Oregonians who worry about local budget squeezes that could result in layoffs to firefighters and teachers. And from business owners who are fighting to stay afloat.

Like so many Oregonians, and Americans across the country, I am relieved that Congress finally acted by passing a fourth, $900 billion coronavirus relief package -- meaning critically needed assistance is now on its way to our state. That relief will include $284 billion for business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program; $600 per person direct payments for Oregonians with incomes below $75,000 for an individual or $150,000 for a household; a boost in supplemental federal unemployment benefits of $300 for the next 11 weeks; and a continuation of the special unemployment benefits for gig workers and people who are self-employed. The bill also includes $82 billion for colleges and schools; $7 billion for rural broadband; $13 billion for food assistance programs Americans rely on to feed their families; and, for the first time, $25 billion in rental assistance funding that will help people keep roofs over their heads. It also will deliver much needed funding to speed vaccine distribution so we can put this pandemic behind us as soon as possible.

I will be following up with you shortly with more information about how to access these resources. I also hope you will bookmark my coronavirus webpage --Merkley.Senate.Gov/Coronavirus -- which my team and I are working to update now with the most up-to-date information and links.

While these are important provisions to help people right now, it’s way too late and not nearly enough. Like so many people, I’ve been beyond frustrated by a Senate majority that has spent the last 8 months refusing to come to the table to negotiate another coronavirus relief package. I continually pushed congressional leaders and the Trump administration to deliver on everything from Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program funding and broadband access for rural and tribal communities, to protections from utility shut offs, and more. I also kept a steady drumbeat on the need to cancel the Senate’s summer recess and bring the HEROES Act -- which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives seven months ago and would have delivered far more relief than this week’s bill -- to the Senate floor for a vote, which the Senate majority refused to do. That kind of inaction in the face of extreme suffering across our nation is completely unacceptable.

Please know that I’m going to continue pushing for more relief so that families have the resources they need to get to the other side of this crisis, and then to thrive. I hope you will join me in doing your part, too, by staying vigilant, wearing a mask, and limiting your contact with others, especially indoors. If we keep working together, we’re going to get through this together, so let’s do everything we can to recommit to this fight.

All my best,
Jeff