Washington (AFP) – US lawmakers have reached a deal for a new package to boost the world’s largest economy, which has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, congressional leaders announced Sunday. “We’ve agreed to a package of nearly $900 billion. It is packed with targeted policies to help struggling Americans who have already waited too long,” Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell in a statement. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer confirmed an agreement had been reached with Republicans and the White House on a deal that “delivers urgently n…
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With Congress agreeing on a new, $900 billion COVID-19 relief package earlier today that includes a limited boost in SNAP (formerly food stamps) benefits, Abby J. Leibman, President and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, issued the following statement:
“We are relieved to finally see an agreement from Congress. But we are also frustrated and disappointed because this is too little that comes far too late for the millions who have been suffering from hunger and food insecurity and waiting for help. While the bill boosts SNAP benefits for six months, we know that the pandemic and its economic fallout including the hunger crisis won’t end by then. Astoundingly, this bill also fails to address the struggling military families who cannot qualify for SNAP. We call on the Biden-Harris administration to make hunger in the military an urgent priority.
At MAZON, Jewish values drive our mission to end hunger. In Deuteronomy 15:7, we are commanded: ‘Do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman.’ For far too many months, administration officials and some in Congress, with hardened hearts and closed hands, inexplicably failed to recognize the devastation ravaging the lives of millions.
We are optimistic that the Biden-Harris Administration and the new Congress will rise to the challenges of this moment and show more wisdom, compassion, and leadership than the Trump Administration and some in Congress, who have blocked and delayed solutions in 2020.”
Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox Union)—the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization—welcomed Congressional leaders’ agreement on a COVID-19 relief package that includes many important and critical measures such as substantial funds to support America’s K-12 schools including $2.75 billion to support Jewish, Catholic and other nonpublic day schools.
In the American Jewish community, there are almost 1,000 Jewish day schools educating approximately 300,000 students and employing many thousands of teachers and other staff. As with so many other institutions, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis has been terribly disruptive and costly to these schools.
The Orthodox Union strongly advocated to Congress that a comprehensive COVID-19 relief package had to provide support to these nonpublic schools, among others, as a matter of practicality and equity. As a result, the programs in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed in March included significant support for nonpublic schools. But more support is needed in this ongoing crisis.
The new relief package Congress is expected to approve today includes many important provisions to address the current challenges, such as:
• a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans (which nonprofits can access);
• an extension of unemployment insurance support;
• greater funding for food assistance;
• more funds for vaccine distribution and COVID-19 testing.
The provision supporting nonpublic K-12 schools tracks what was proposed in the bipartisan COVID-19 relief proposal put forward last week by Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and others. It was incorporated into the final legislative package though the efforts and negotiations of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.); Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Following Congress’s finalization of the relief package, Orthodox Union Executive Director for Public Policy Nathan Diament stated:
“As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has been terribly disruptive and costly to America’s K-12 schools—the students and families they serve, the teachers and many other staffers who work tirelessly to educate our children. That is why it is essential for this latest federal relief package to include a great amount of support for these schools and, among them, America’s Jewish, Catholic and other nonpublic schools.
“We are all in this together. We cannot beat back the pandemic, much less educate children, in some schools but not others. Thus, we are very thankful that Congressional leaders set aside $2.75 billion to help our schools in this emergency. We wish to particularly thank Senate leaders McConnell and Schumer as well as Sens. Collins, Manchin, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), House of Representatives leaders Pelosi and McCarthy as well as Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) for their efforts to have this critical support included in this much-needed relief package.”
Orthodox Union President Mark (“Moishe”) Bane stated:
“The Jewish community’s K-12 schools and yeshivos are working mightily to educate our children effectively and safely in the midst of this pandemic. Like K-12 schools across all American communities, this essential work—and the road to recovery from this crisis—are very costly. We are deeply grateful to the leaders and members of the U.S. Congress who have delivered this critical support to our schools and communities on an equitable and fair basis.”
Congresswoman-elect Sara Jacobs released the following statement on the $900-billion COVID relief package announced this afternoon:
“I am grateful for Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer’s work to negotiate a deal that includes support for small businesses, rental assistance, expanded unemployment insurance benefits, child care assistance, and more. I am particularly heartened to see a strengthening of the Low Income Housing, Earned Income, and Child Tax Credits — all of which will be hugely important for families in California’s 53rd District and across the country.
“However, I am gravely disappointed that, after eight months without providing American families relief, the deal will only include $600 per person in direct cash assistance. $600 is simply not enough for American families who are struggling. I am also disappointed that Republican leadership blocked much-needed funding to state and local governments that would support our essential workers and prevent service cuts.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the 117th Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration to advance another COVID relief package that prioritizes support for those who need it most.”