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Suozzi, Problem Solvers Caucus, Hold Press Conference Bipartisan 4-Month COVID-19 Emergency Relief Package

PSC press conference
December 3, 2020
Press Release
Proposal would provide $908 billion in relief, with funds that would help individuals, small businesses, schools, and state and local government

Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D – Long Island, Queens) and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, of which Suozzi is Vice-Chair, held a press conference on a newly introduced bipartisan and bicameral COVID-19 relief package that would deliver much-needed relief to families, businesses, workers, state and local governments, and health care providers. The proposal, put forward by Suozzi, members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, and a group of Republican and Democratic Senators, has received the backing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

 

“The effects of this pandemic have been cruelly uneven. While some individuals and businesses remain unscathed or even better off, others have been completely devastated. Only those living in a Beltway fantasyland are immune from the cries for help to get through the winter,” said Suozzi. “This bipartisan compromise is an essential lifeline that must be a starting point for Democratic and Republican leadership to demonstrate that the United States government can actually fulfill its obligation to serve the American people. We cannot, in good conscience, leave DC before the holidays without a relief package.”

 

Suozzi continued, “I have been a strong advocate for even more relief, but people are desperate and a smaller relief package in time for the winter is much more important than a larger package in February or March. People need help now.”

 

A breakdown of the newly introduced COVID-19 emergency relief framework can be found HERE.

  

The framework allocates $908 billion in total aid, including both new funding and the reallocation of previously appropriated CARES Act funding. The framework targets resources to the following key categories:

 

  • State, Local, and Tribal Governments - $160 billion 
  • Additional Unemployment Insurance (UI) - $180 billion 
  • Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) including restaurants, stages, and deductibility - $288 billion
  • CDFI/MDI Community Lender Support - $12 billion
  • Transportation (Airlines, Airports, Buses, Transit, and Amtrak) - $45 billion
  • Vaccine Development and Distribution and Testing and Tracing - $16 billion
  • Healthcare Provider Relief Fund - $35 billion 
  • Education Funding - $82 billion
  • Student Loans - $4 billion
  • Housing Assistance (Rental) - $25 billion
  • Nutrition/Agriculture - $26 billion
  • U.S. Postal Service - $10 billion
  • Child Care - $10 billion     
  • Dedicated Broadband Funding - $10 billion
  • Opioid Funding - $5 billion

 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Suozzi has advocated for continued economic relief. Earlier this year, Suozzi and the Problem Solvers Caucus led the introduction of a different COVID-19 relief proposal meant to bridge the divide between the two chambers of Congress and the White House. That proposal initially helped bridge the gap, but negotiations fell short. This new proposal, led by Suozzi and the Problem Solvers Caucus, has since brought both sides back to the negotiating table to pass a COVID-19 relief package.

 

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