Latest Developments on Responding to the Coronavirus

This week, our nation crossed the somber milestone of more than 10,000 American lives lost from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. However, we also heard from public health experts who have expressed optimism that the ‘stay-at-home' orders and precautions all of us are taking appear to be working, but we cannot let up.

Let me assure you that as the Representative of Ohio's Third Congressional District, I will never let up and —whether in the Halls of Congress or working remotely—I am fighting as hard as ever for you: my constituents.

To that effect, I convened a COVID-19 response call with municipality mayors on April 6^th, and another with healthcare professionals and workers on April 9^th, as well as a conference call the same day with small businesses, communities of faith, housing organizations, and nonprofits. Previously, I hosted a community stakeholder conference call on March 13^th and a telephone town hall with constituents on March 27^th.

On these calls, my team and I answered questions and heard from constituents, government officials, community leaders, and stakeholders across all industries about their needs, ongoing work, and next steps to address the coronavirus. Many constituents on the telephone town hall wanted to learn more about best practices to prevent getting and transmitting the virus and inquired about direct economic impact payments and available support and relief programs they may qualify to receive. Countless participants and elected officials called for further federal stimulus funds, a comprehensive public awareness campaign, greater community outreach, and discussed the depleted income tax revenue base our shared constituents rely on to fund critical emergency and government services. For more information on my COVID-19-related events, go to the ‘Congressional Updates' section on my Coronavirus Resource page.

You may also be interested to hear that I am in the process of drafting and signing on to even more congressional letters and bills. Most recent examples include:

• Cosponsoring the P.A.I.D. Leave Act, H.R. 6442, a bill that would create an emergency 14-day sick leave program during public emergencies and a permanent 7-day paid leave program beginning in 2022.
• Cosponsoring the Coronavirus Community Relief Act, H.R. 6467, a bill that would provide $250 billion to cities and towns under 500,000 population. Ohio could be eligible for more than $8 billion in direct funding if this piece of legislation becomes law.
• Letter to the Trump Administration urging them to reopen the federal healthcare exchange for furloughed workers and individuals who lost their job.
• Letter to the Social Security Administration (SSA), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requesting automatic relief payments to vulnerable Americans.
• Letter to Congressional Leadership to prioritize and defend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

To read past weekly COVID-19 updates, please click here and here.

During these unprecedented times, it is easy to be discouraged and lose sight of the fact that better days are ahead. Until then, stay healthy and safe—and please know that I will continue to make sure that Ohio workers, families, and small businesses come first in everything I do.