In response to news that nearly 850,000 people filed unemployment claims last week, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas released the following statement:
“The fallout of the Trump administration’s failure to get the pandemic under control continues to plague American families. Yet again, unemployment numbers remain at historic levels that dwarf the worst weeks of the Great Recession and Americans are left to struggle to make ends meet.
“Yesterday, the Federal Reserve made clear that the most important part of economic recovery is getting the virus under control.
“Let’s be clear: the only way to achieve that is for Congress to act quickly to support the Biden administration’s efforts outlined in the American Rescue Plan, a comprehensive and aggressive package that will offer direct stimulus, expand unemployment benefits, provide funding for states and communities who’ve bore the brunt of pandemic response, and – most importantly – ramps up vaccine distribution and national testing efforts.
“Congress needs to act quickly. Any members opposing the American Rescue Plan are choosing to let this public health and economic crises drag on longer than necessary.”