Why We Need a Relief Bill: While McConnell Blocks Help, Millions of Workers, Families and Businesses Have Fallen Into Despair

Unemployment Benefits, Eviction Protection, Student Loan Relief, Paid Family Leave Set to Expire Without New Package

Millions of Americans Are Struggling to Afford Rent, Food

Countless Businesses on Verge of Permanently Closing

As the coronavirus pandemic worsens and Mitch McConnell fails to negotiate on meaningful relief, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas released the following statement:

“Families across the country are struggling. Nearly nine months into dealing with this pandemic, people are still facing historic levels of unemployment and uncertainty about their future and the future of their communities. 

“In order to rebuild the economy, we have to get coronavirus under control and offer a meaningful relief package now. Every moment wasted means more hardship for families and a steeper hill for small businesses and the economy as a whole to climb.

“Mitch McConnell must work with Democrats to take strong action now to stimulate the economy — and help those who have been hardest hit by President Trump’s failures. Without robust relief, the United States faces the prospect of a prolonged recession, with many people and businesses facing permanent economic damage.

“Every moment McConnell delays is a blatant attempt to undermine the incoming Biden Administration by saddling them with an economy that’s cratered and millions of families facing crisis. This is on his hands.” 

Federal Programs Meant to Alleviate the Economic Cost of the Crisis Are Set to Expire by Year’s End 

• • About 12 Million Unemployed Workers In The United States Will Lose Benefits The Day After Christmas Without Additional Relief. “About 12 million jobless workers around the U.S. will lose their unemployment benefits the day after Christmas, according to a new analysis. The benefits cutoff could push many households into poverty while creating headwinds for the economic recovery, experts say.” [CBS News, 11/19/20]
    
    • The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, Which Supports More Than 7 Million People, Ends On December 26. ‘The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program allows independent contractors, the self-employed and gig workers to qualify for payments. It also opens up the program to those who can’t work because of the pandemic, including if they or family members are ill or quarantining or if their children’s schools are closed. An estimated 7.3 million Americans will lose these payments [on December 26], according to a new analysis from The Century Foundation.”  [CNN, 11/18/20]
      
    • Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Which Provides 13 Weeks Of Federal Benefits To Those Who Run Out Of State Support, Ends On December 26. “Congress created the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which provides an additional 13 weeks of federally paid benefits to those who run out of state payments, which typically last 26 weeks. Nearly 3.6 million Americans had been out of work for at least 27 weeks in October, a stunning jump of nearly 50% from September, according to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They now account for a third of the unemployed, up from less than a fifth a month earlier. More than 4.6 million workers will have these payments halted [on December 26], even if they haven’t received all 13 weeks, according to The Century Foundation analysis.”   [CNN, 11/18/20]
      
  • The Federal Moratorium On Evictions Ends After December 31. “The nationwide eviction moratorium will also end after Dec. 31, 2020, which advocates worry will lead to a surge in homelessness right after the New Year.” [CNBC, 11/24/20]
    

• Student Loan Relief Is Set To Expire On December 31. “In March, the US government automatically suspended payments and waived interest on federal student loans. That meant millions of borrowers could skip making their monthly payments without their balances getting any bigger. Initially, the relief… was set to expire at the end of September. But Trump later moved the date to December 31 by executive order. If neither Trump or Congress acts to push the deadline back, millions of student loan payments will come due a couple of weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20.” [CNN, 11/18/20]
  
• Paid Family Leave Is Set To Expire On December 31. “Earlier in the year, lawmakers expanded paid family leave benefits for many workers who become ill or are caring for someone else. It was limited to employees of companies with fewer than 500 workers but provided up to two weeks of paid sick leave and an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family leave for parents who need to care for children whose schools closed… Those benefits also are set to expire on December 31.” [CNN, 11/18/20]
  
• Relief Funds For State And Local Governments Are Set To Expire By December 30. “Congress provided $150 billion to state and local governments to help them cover coronavirus-related expenses. But states have to use those funds by December 30. States are on track to expend all the funds by the deadline… However, governors have repeatedly requested that they have more time to use the money and that they also be able to spend it on budget shortfalls, not just pandemic costs. So far, Congress has not complied.” [CNN, 11/18/20]

While the US Faces an Unprecedented Unemployment Crisis and Americans Struggle to Pay for Basic Necessities

• • More Than 68 Million Americans Have Filed For Unemployment Since The Beginning Of The Pandemic. “More than 68 million filings for unemployment insurance have now been made since the pandemic froze US economic activity in March. That handily exceeds the 37 million filings made during the 18-month Great Recession. Though filings have declined significantly from spring levels, they still surpass the 665,000 filings made during the worst week of the prior recession.” [Business Insider, 11/19/20]
    
• More Than 743,000 People Filed Initial Unemployment Claims Last Week, Marking The First Increase In New Claims Since Early October. “The job market is showing signs of weakening again, as more Americans file for unemployment benefits amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases and new restrictions on business aimed at curbing the outbreak. Initial claims for state employment insurance jumped by more than 18,000 to over 743,000 last week, before adjusting for seasonal factors, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It was the first increase since early October and represented an ominous turn for a labor market that has struggled to recover fully from the huge layoffs that accompanied the pandemic’s arrival in March.” [New York Times, 11/19/20]
• The US Is Experiencing Historic Levels Of Long Term Unemployment. “Lost in the latest economic headlines touting the rebound is the fact that some 1 million more workers last month were out of work for more than 26 weeks, joining a group referred to as the long-term unemployed. That historic jump offset some 40% of the decrease in the rest of the unemployed workers. Not only that, but 742,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, more than the 700,000 economists forecast. Since March, initial unemployment claims have been higher than in any prior recession. Worst of all, initial claims edged up last week after declining for more than a month.” [Bloomberg, 11/19/20]
  
  • More Than 21 Million Americans Are Collecting Some Form Of Unemployment Assistance. “As of Oct. 24, 21.16 million Americans were collecting some form of assistance, a decrease of 374,179. A year ago, that total was 1.45 million.” [CNBC, 11/12/20] 

• At Least 8 Million Americans Have Fallen Into Poverty Since May. “The number of Americans living in poverty grew by 8 million since May, according to a Columbia University study, which found an increase in poverty rates after early coronavirus relief ended without more to follow. Although the federal Cares Act, which gave Americans a one-time stimulus check of $1,200 and unemployed workers an extra $600 each week, was successful at offsetting growing poverty rates in the spring, the effects were short-lived, researchers found in the study published Thursday.” [NBC News, 10/16/20]
• Food Insecurity Has More Than Doubled Since The Beginning Of The Pandemic. “Food insecurity has more than doubled as a result of the Covid-19-induced economic crisis and affects almost a quarter of all U.S. households, according to researchers at Northwestern University.” [CNBC, 11/2/20]
• As Many As 34 Million People In The US Are Facing Eviction. “If you’re scared that you won’t be able to come up with your rent, you’re not alone. As many as 1 in 5 renters say they’ve fallen behind during the pandemic, according to the Center on Budget Policies and Priorities. For Black renters, the share who are in trouble is closer to a third. And as many as 34 million people in the U.S. may be at risk of eviction, a new analysis by global advisory firm Stout Risius Ross found. ‘The United States is facing the most severe housing crisis in history,’ said Emily Benfer, an eviction expert and visiting professor of law at Wake Forest University.” [CNBC, 11/5/20]
• The National Energy Assistance Directors’ Associations Warned In Early October That Roughly 179 Million Americans Were At Risk Of Losing Power Or Other Utilities. “At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many states acted quickly to ensure their residents would not lose their power or other utilities if their jobs or wages were slashed. Now, however, only 21 states and the District of Columbia still have such disconnection bans in place. That leaves roughly 179 million Americans at risk of losing service even as the economy continues sputtering, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, which is tracking the moratoria. Millions more in nine other states are set to lose their protections starting Thursday and throughout the fall, the group found.” [Washington Post, 10/1/20]

Small Businesses Continue to Be Devastated by Trump’s Inability to Combat the Pandemic and Many Are on the Verge of Permanently Closing

• An October Poll Of Small Business Owners Showed That 34 Percent Of Respondents Were Struggling To Pay Their Rent. “In its latest Alignable Pulse Poll of 7, 726 small business owners, 34% of the respondents say they are struggling to pay their rent in October. This news comes as the pandemic continues to disrupt business operations across the board eight months on. The Alignable poll, which was taken in the first week of October shows the number is two percent higher than September (32%). And there is no shortage of industries that are getting hammered by rent demand from their landlords.” [Small Business Trends, 10/12/20]
• The Yelp Economic Average Showed That 163,735 U.S. Business Closed Between The Beginning Of The Pandemic And The End Of August. “The last Yelp Economic Average showed a decreasing number of overall closures, 132,580 in total. As of August 31, 163,735 total U.S. businesses on Yelp have closed since the beginning of the pandemic (observed as March 1), a 23% increase since July 10. In the wake of COVID-19 cases increasing and local restrictions continuing to change in many states we’re seeing both permanent and temporary closures rise across the nation, with 60% of those closed businesses not reopening (97,966 permanently closed).” [Yelp Economic Average, September 2020]
• According To A Survey By The National Restaurant Association, Around 40 Percent Of Restaurants Answered That They Would Be Forced To Close Without Relief. “Around 40% of restaurants in the US said they would close within the next six months without more support, per a survey released from the National Restaurant Association.” [Business Insider, 11/1/20]
• Over 1,000 Restaurant Workers Are Set To Be Laid Off Just In The Chicago Area. “The Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act Report for the month of October announced 3,384 coming layoffs in the state – most of them permanent, and many of them at Chicago restaurants.” [CBS Chicago, 11/6/20]

Acute Budget Shortfalls Loom for States and Local Governments as Funding Runs Out

• 2,100 Cities Are Facing Budgets And Estimates Put The Total Impending Budget Shortfall For State And Local Governments At $500 Billion. “With the recent prolonged debate in Washington over additional coronavirus relief funding, state and local governments are in a budget crunch. Approximately 2,100 cities are facing significant budget deficits this year, with 96% of these budget shortfalls due to unexpected drops in revenue attributable to the coronavirus. Estimates put the total impending budget shortfall for state and local governments at $500 billion.” [Forbes, 11/3/20]
• States Face Sharp Budget Cuts To Social Services, Corrections, Education If Aid Is Not Provided. “Deficits have already prompted tax hikes and cuts to education, corrections and parks. State workers are being laid off and are taking pay cuts, and the retirement benefits for police, firefighters, teachers and other government workers are under more pressure.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/28/20]
• Without Federal Funding, States Will Struggle To Distribute Coronavirus Vaccines. “State health officials are expressing frustration about a lack of federal financial support as they face orders to prepare to receive and distribute the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 15, even though one is not likely to be approved until later this year. The officials say they don’t have enough money to pay for the enormous and complicated undertaking.” [Washington Post, 10/30/20]