NETWORK Denounces Inadequate Republican COVID-19 Relief Plans

For Immediate Release: July 23, 2020
Contact: Lee Morrow, lmorrow@networklobby.org, 202-601-7871

NETWORK Denounces Inadequate Republican COVID-19 Relief Plans
Sr. Simone: “Unless the Senate takes up the measures proposed in the HEROES Act, the nation’s economic, health care, and housing systems will collapse.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After months of inaction, Senate Republicans have created their own plan to address the pandemic that is sweeping through our nation. It is woefully inadequate, and without changes will lead to the collapse of our economic, health care, and housing systems. As people of faith, the Sisters and advocates of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice cannot support legislation that would leave millions of people without needed protections.

The plan agreed to by Senate Republicans and the White House would take money away from unemployed people in the middle of the worst recession since World War II. It would leave Medicaid without needed funding, even though over 70,000 new COVID-19 cases are being diagnosed every day. It would end eviction protections as 23 million Americans report their inability to pay next month’s rent. The White House and Senate Republicans are manufacturing a housing crisis, the collapse of Medicaid, and a second Great Depression.

Thankfully, there is another way. In May, the House passed the HEROES Act, legislation that would shore up our economy, provide needed funding for our health care system, and protect families from losing their homes. Republicans have ignored this legislation for months, doing nothing to protect their constituents. Expanded unemployment benefits and eviction protections expire in a week, so there’s no time for Republican inaction. The Senate must immediately take up and pass the proposals included in the HEROES Act.

Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice said:

“Republicans have had months to create legislation that addresses the scale of the COVID-19 crisis. It is shocking that this meager plan was all they could come up with. In May, the House passed a comprehensive plan that meets the moment called the HEROES Act. Senate Republicans ignored it. Since May, millions more people have lost their jobs and the pandemic has spread to every corner of the nation. Now expanded unemployment benefits and eviction protections expire in a week. Instead of doing their job, Senate leadership has left this until the last minute and produced a flimsy proposal that does not take care of the needs of our nation.

“Unless the Senate takes up the measures proposed in the HEROES Act, the nation’s economic, health care, and housing systems will collapse. Senator McConnell’s plan strips financial assistance from the unemployed during a recession. It leaves Medicaid without needed funding during a pandemic. It manufactures a housing crisis by allowing millions to be evicted from their homes. Until HEROES Act proposals are adopted, the White House and Senate Republicans are abdicating their duty to protect the American people.”

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NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice – advocates for justice inspired by Catholic Sisters – educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation. They have a nearly 50-year track record of lobbying for critical federal programs that support those at the margins and prioritize the common good. www.networklobby.org