Opinion: The American People Cannot Wait Any Longer for Emergency Relief

It has been more than ten months since the first case of COVID-19 in the United States, and we are just now experiencing the most devastating stretch of this pandemic. More than 14.3 million people in the United States have been infected, and at least 279,000 have tragically died, including more than 1,000 in San Diego County alone.

Hospitals are being overrun, small businesses are failing, and job losses are mounting every day. Americans are in pain, and Congress must meet this moment. It’s long past time for Republicans and Democrats to recognize the gravity of this situation, set aside our differences, and provide relief for the American people.

If you’ve watched one of the dozens of virtual town halls I’ve held during this pandemic, you know how frustrated I am that the Senate has refused to act on legislation the House passed in May to support front line workers, small businesses, state and local governments, and families struggling to make ends meet. Instead, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that we take a “pause” and allow states to go bankrupt. That inaction was a colossal failure for our country, but it’s not too late to act.

This week, a group of House and Senate members from both parties offered a proposal that would provide $908 billion in federal aid to get us through the next several months of the pandemic. It would help state and local governments maintain critical services, keep small businesses afloat, extend unemployment for those in need, help schools adapt, and strengthen vaccine distribution.

Those are all critically important things that we must do immediately to get through this winter, but it’s not enough.

We should provide far more assistance for schools to improve distance learning and better prepare for safer in-person classes, and we need to invest much more in childcare services.

We should be doing more for those who have lost their jobs, who are struggling to put food on the table or pay for rent.

We should provide far more funding for state and local governments to keep first responders on the job and public services running.

And we should be investing much more in the distribution of vaccines, as well as expanding our testing and contact tracing capacity.

Those are all things that I will keep fighting for every single day, but I won’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I’m willing to support an imperfect bill if it means getting more relief to the people I serve quickly. That’s what compromise is all about, but compromise only works if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are willing to do the same.

We can still pass a bipartisan bill to save lives and livelihoods if both sides are willing to meet in the middle.

The American people cannot and should not have to wait any longer. I urge my colleagues to put their differences aside and treat this emergency like our lives depend on it — because they do.

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