[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 204 (Thursday, December 3, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CORONAVIRUS
Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, it might be hard to believe it is
actually December. In normal times, a lot of families in Michigan would
be focused on getting ready for the holidays, and while Michigan
children might still be counting down the days until Santa arrives,
their parents have a lot bigger issues weighing on their minds.
A Michigan dad has been out of work for months and is wondering how
long his family will be able to keep scraping by in the new year after
his unemployment runs out.
A Michigan single mom whose hours have been cut and who has been
unable to pay the rent for months is wondering just how long it will be
until her family will be out on the street.
The owner of a Michigan small business is wondering if he will see
enough of a holiday boost to keep the doors open and his three
employees on the payroll.
A Michigan retiree who struggles to buy enough groceries is wondering
if it is safe to wait in a long line at her local food bank or if that
is where she will get sick.
Michigan families who have seen almost 9,300 of their grandparents
and neighbors and uncles and cousins and friends and community leaders
get sick and die from this horrible virus are wondering who is going to
be next.
The truth is that we are not just facing a health crisis right now--
we are facing an economic crisis; we are facing a housing crisis; and
we are facing a hunger crisis all at the same time. Coronavirus cases,
hospitalizations, and deaths keep rising, and we haven't even seen the
effects of Thanksgiving gatherings yet. We are seeing unemployment
claims tick up, and those are expected to get worse after seasonal jobs
will be cut in January.
Some studies have estimated that about 40 million renters in the
United States are at risk of losing their homes. There are already
10,000 eviction actions that have been filed in a number of States.
Those are 10,000 families who need to find new places to live right
now, in the winter, in the middle of a health pandemic.
We have all seen the massive lines of cars at food banks across the
country. In a normal year, the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan helps
about 14 percent of the population in 22 counties get enough food to
eat. This year, it is helping 40 percent to put food on the table.
Before COVID-19, the South Michigan Food Bank provided food to about 80
families a week. Now it is helping more than 500 families a week. This
is an emergency. These families, businesses, community organizations,
and seniors can't just wait around, hoping for a Christmas miracle.
They need help now, and it is our responsibility to do it now.
That is why I am so pleased that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle
have been working to come together on additional help. There are still
a lot of details to work out, but I am hopeful, in being part of the
process on the workings of the details, that we are going to be able to
come together on an agreement that will help families and businesses
and communities get through these tough times.
Whatever agreement we reach won't be perfect. We know that. It won't
be everything everybody wants. Yet we can't wait because time is
quickly running out. On December 26--only 23 days from now--vital
unemployment programs will expire, cutting off benefits that millions
of workers will need to be able to provide for their families.
If you are self-employed, if you are a contract worker, if you are a
gig worker, suddenly you will have zero help--zero.
Five days after that, on December 31, the Federal Reserve's emergency
lending program ends. That will cut off crucial credit that is keeping
businesses open and helping State and local governments provide
necessary services.
Also on December 31, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
eviction moratorium expires, and the Federal foreclosure moratorium and
some opportunities for forbearance expire.
Imagine what it would be like to begin a new year with no roof over
your head or your family's, no place for your children to sleep, and no
place to stay clean in the middle of a raging pandemic.
And on January 1, millions of student loan borrowers will have to
resume their payments whether they can afford them or not.
These programs have been, literally, a lifeline for families, for
communities, for businesses during the pandemic. And while vaccines are
on the horizon and we are so happy to hear the progress, this pandemic
is far from over. Cutting off this vital help now would be like an
ambulance driver stopping 2 miles short of the hospital and making the
accident victim get out and walk the rest of the way to the emergency
room.
We need to face this health crisis, this economic crisis, this
housing crisis, this hunger crisis with seriousness and boldness.
People in Michigan and across the country are crying out for help. It
is time for this body to listen. It is time for Congress to lead.
We should not go home until we have passed at least a short-term
survival package to help Americans through the next few months. That is
our job. That is our job, and we should not go home until that job is
done.
We are the United States of America--United States of America.
Nothing is holding us back from helping our citizens other than
people's unwillingness to do it. Nothing.
We are the United States of America. There is no reason we are not
coming together, and shame on the Congress and the White House if we
don't act now to help our citizens.
There is nothing holding us back but the political will to do it, and
it needs to get done. There are many of us now on both sides of the
aisle working to do that, and we need to make sure that people lean in
together and get this done.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Scott of Florida). The Senator from West
Virginia.
____________________