New Democrat Coalition Chair Statement on Speaker Pelosi’s Announcement on Next Steps in the Coronavirus Response
Today, New Democrat Coalition (NDC) Chair Derek Kilmer released the following statement after Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced next steps in the coronavirus response:
“The staggering acceleration of the impact of the coronavirus on our workers, families, health care providers, and communities has been massively disruptive. Yesterday, I joined my fellow New Democrat Coalition Leadership Members in urging the Speaker and House Leadership to focus our coronavirus response on targeted and timely policies that address the immediate and pressing issues unique to this crisis. I applaud the Speaker for announcing that the House will continue to deliver additional assistance that meets both the intensity and duration needed for this ongoing crisis and our recovery from it.
“That’s why, among other initiatives, the Coalition is advocating for automatic stabilizers to be built into our coronavirus response and recovery programs. If implemented, as negative conditions persist or worsen, additional assistance would be automatically triggered and disbursed where it’s needed most. Steps like these could provide some predictability for people during these very unpredictable times.
“Moving forward, the support the federal government provides needs to be responsive to what’s happening on the ground. Inadequate funding and implementation issues of these programs by the administration is unacceptable. The federal government should continue to address outstanding issues and ensure assistance continues smoothly, adequately, and responsively.
“We look forward to working with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to respond to the urgent needs of the American people and our economy.”
Yesterday, NDC Leadership Members sent a letter to House Democratic Leadership and Chairs of the Standing House Committees urging them to focus continued coronavirus response packages on targeted, timely, and temporary policies to address the immediate and pressing issues unique to the pandemic and its economic impacts. Last month, the NDC put forward a comprehensive package of policy recommendations and priorities for inclusion in Congress’s coronavirus response and economic recovery packages. A significant majority of the Coalition’s recommendations were included in the last package, H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
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