[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 214 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H7239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PROVIDING COVID-19 RELIEF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis continues to 
have a terrible impact throughout the Nation.
  Cases are surging, and thousands are dying from the virus every day. 
There have been over 16 million United States cases, and over 300,000 
people have lost their lives in the United States.
  Over 20 million people across the country are collecting unemployment 
and struggling to make ends meet. In California, more than 1.3 million 
people have become unemployed over the past year.
  Hunger is growing across the Nation. One in five renters is behind on 
paying their rent, meaning that millions are on the brink of eviction 
as months of back rent are coming due.
  The Federal Reserve estimates that renters in California will owe 
$1.7 billion in unpaid rent by the end of the year, representing almost 
a quarter of the total rental debt that will have accrued nationwide 
during the pandemic.
  Small businesses are struggling. As many as one-third of small 
businesses, including more than 40 percent of Black-owned and Latinx-
owned small businesses, say they will be forced to close their doors 
for good without immediate relief from Congress.
  Families across the country desperately need relief.
  So, it is absolutely essential that Congress finally come to a 
bipartisan agreement for a relief bill. As Democrats are nearing a 
compromise with our Republican colleagues, we must ensure that the 
legislation helps all of those who are struggling during this pandemic.
  It is especially important that the relief bill contains another 
round of direct stimulus payments for individuals and families to help 
them make ends meet. We must also provide additional unemployment 
assistance to those who have lost their jobs as a result of the crisis.
  As chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, I am working 
hard to secure the inclusion of much-needed emergency rental assistance 
in the bill and the extension of the eviction moratorium, as well as 
funding for community development financial institutions and minority 
depository institutions that support access to credit and investment in 
communities of color, which have been hit hard by this crisis.
  As this pandemic continues to rage, it would be completely 
irresponsible and foolish to take away the Federal Reserve's and the 
Treasury's crisis management tools that can help address threats to 
jobs, small businesses, municipal government, and the economy.
  Let me be clear that the compromise bill that is now being worked on, 
while important, will not be enough by itself. Families across the 
country will need more help. Congress must work with the incoming Biden 
administration to take additional action to support those who are 
struggling every day and put the country on a path to recovery.

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