1. Continue to support unemployed workers and the economy.  

Extend the full $600 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation retroactive to July 25. Additional weeks for both UI and PUA claims must be added and those weeks must include the FPUC. Payment tapering should not start until our national emergency is over and the unemployment rate has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

 

2. Extend relief to those previously excluded. 

Continue Pandemic Unemployment Assistance until at least the end of the pandemic, and further expand eligibility to job seekers and working people, including immigrants, who have been thus far excluded. All living in this country should have the opportunity to contribute to the rebuilding of the economy and be granted access to much-needed relief.

 

3. Save our small businesses and self-employed workers.

Provide a clear path to full PPP Loan forgiveness, particularly for those with loans under $150,000 and/or those whose loans were miscalculated at no fault of their own. Provide long-term support for small businesses and independent contractors by implementing additional forgivable loan programs as introduced within the RESTART Act. Allow non-profits, BIPOC owned businesses, and labor unions fair access to pandemic relief.

 

4. Reduce existing roadblocks for mixed-income workers to access comprehensive relief.

Address the unintended oversights of the CARES Act by: implementing the Mixed Earner Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act to provide fair access to PUA for mixed 1099 and W2 workers; and offering further guidance to the self-employed who qualify for both traditional unemployment and SBA loans to clarify and broaden the allowances for utilizing both programs at the same time.

 

5. Take care of our essential and front line workers.

Offer comprehensive and retroactive relief by mandating hazard pay, adequate PPE, and protections as established by OSHA.

 

6. Support our states and local programs.

Fund states and local governments so they are able to strengthen their unemployment systems to effectively process backlogged and new UI claims quickly and accurately. State funding for all states also ensures they do not have to lay off more employees and can bolster their much-needed social programs like housing and food assistance despite lower state income and spending.

 

7. Sustain the shuttered live events and entertainment industries.

Provide dedicated funding aimed at small businesses and workers employed in the arts, entertainment, and live events industries, to include the Save Our Stages Act. Relief must continue until face-to-face industries are able to operate at standard capacity, insurance brokers are able to cover them, and audience members feel safe to attend.

 

8. Protect our aviation industry workers.

Extend the Payroll Support Program. Without this extension hundreds of thousand more people will lose their jobs and health care. 

 

9. Take care of our veterans, who served this country. 

Expand funding for the VA Supportive Housing, Supportive Services for Veteran Families, and Health Care for Homeless Veterans programs, providing aid and assistance to American heroes experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. 

 

10. Make health care available and affordable for all people.

Expand healthcare access to include:

• 100% subsidy for the COBRA program to protect workers’ healthcare, and extension of eligibility to 36 months;

• Require all states to expand coverage for COVID-19 testing and treatment for the uninsured;

• Expansion of Medicaid eligibility for unemployed people not covered by COBRA, with eligibility determined by current income rather than their previous tax filing; 

• Extension of open enrollment period for all healthcare programs to allow all people to access or change their health insurance based on their new financial situations.

 

11. Do not let those struggling lose their homes. 

Federally mandate an eviction moratorium that remains in place until unemployment levels return to below 5%. Further assist renters by offering comprehensive rent relief. 

 

12. Do not let America go hungry.

Extend enhanced SNAP benefits to September of 2021 and expand eligibility, expand minimum and maximum payments, and suspend job-related requirements.

 

13. Do not let student loan debt cripple our people.

Defer student loan payments and suspend interest accrual until unemployment falls below 5% and expand relief to include federal loans purchased or refinanced by private lenders. With incomes slashed people are increasingly unable to juggle student debt and COVID-19.

 

14. Enable all our students and workers to be able to learn and work from their home. 

Implement universal access to broadband and Wi-Fi. Working and learning from home should not be a barrier to continued education and career progress.

 

15. Ensure our teachers and children are not treated as guinea pigs.

Provide comprehensive funding and pandemic response guidelines for schools. Dedicated funding for public schools so they may implement remote learning programs properly and adequately support a return to safe in-person learning when it is safe to do so.

 

16. Help working parents throughout this crisis. 

Dedicated funding for childcare programs, allowing parents to go back to work when it is safe to 

do so, regardless of the ability of school districts to open for in-person learning.

 

17. Ensure a safe and fair election.

Provide funding for the USPS and bolster mail-in and early voting availability. 

 

18. Provide and fund an actionable response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Comprehensive funding for testing and vaccine development, and a plan for contact tracing.