AUDIO: Udall Holds Listening Session with New Mexicans, Calls for Urgent COVID-19 Relief
WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) held a listening session with New Mexicans affected by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, to discuss the urgent need for Congress to pass an additional Coronavirus relief package. The House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act to provide urgent relief nearly three months ago, but Senate Republicans and the White House have rejected it and failed to negotiate an additional relief package.
During the call, Udall heard from two New Mexicans who recently lost federal unemployment assistance of $600 per week when the Senate Republican majority failed to extend the critical aid and instead insisted on cuts to the program. Udall also listened to the stories of local elected officials representing Curry County and the City of Santa Fe about the need for Congress to pass additional support for state and local governments so they can provide essential public services, avoid cuts to service and prevent further layoffs. Udall also heard from an Española Public Schools educator regarding the challenges facing New Mexico schools and the need to provide greater resources to our education system to ensure the state can safely reopen and provide continuity of education for students digitally while they learn at home.
Over 150,000 New Mexicans have relied on the additional $600 per week in expanded federal unemployment assistance that was included in the March CARES Act as the COVID-19 pandemic caused workers across the country to lose their jobs almost overnight through no fault of their own. Udall has consistently pushed back on Trump administration and Senate Republican proposals to make drastic cuts to this crucial assistance, and continues to call on the Trump administration and Republican Senate majority to negotiate in good faith toward a solution that is sufficient to meet the challenges New Mexicans are facing.
“The terrible human and economic toll this pandemic has taken could have been eased – had the Trump administration harnessed every tool at their disposal to lead the nation through this crisis,” Udall said. “Instead, the president has ceded leadership to governors. The president’s lack of empathy and sheer callousness toward the frightening circumstances so many Americans face – especially Americans of color – is chilling.
“It’s been three months since the House of Representatives passed the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act, which I support. The HEROES Act continues federal relief programs that have made all the difference for American families and injects new funding into the system,” Udall continued. “However, the White House and Senate Republicans refuse to rise to the occasion. The White House doomed negotiations with Congressional Democrats. And the president’s executive orders don’t do the job and they won’t work. They reduce assistance for unemployed Americans struggling to make rent and feed their families, and they are far too narrow in scope.
“Cutting New Mexicans’ unemployment by $200 a week is unacceptable, even if the president’s plan were to even materialize,” Udall concluded. “The American people need robust and comprehensive action from Congress now.”
Udall’s remarks can be found below:
0:00 Good afternoon. Thank you to everyone joining us today.
0:04 We’re here to talk about the most pressing issue the American people are facing: the public health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
0:15 And the news we have to report is not good.
0:21 Positive cases in the U.S. are skyrocketing – as we surpass 5 million cases.
0:27 Coronavirus deaths are soaring – as more than 1,000 Americans are dying every day. This virus now accounts for 1 out of 8 of all deaths is the U.S. 1 out of 8.
0:46 More than 160,000 Americans have lost their lives since February. That’s more lives than we lost than in the Vietnam, Korean, and Middle East Wars combined.
1:00 Our economy is tanking. The last quarter’s gross domestic product plummeted at the greatest rate since record keeping began, in the 1940’s. Tens of millions of people are out of work. New unemployment claims have exceeded 1 million for 20 weeks in a row.
1:20 New Mexicans are worried about how they will feed their families and keep a roof over their heads.
1:26 Today, we’ll hear from Michelle Zetterholm of Albuquerque and Molly Dietze-Kennedy who have been depending on the federal unemployment insurance supplement to get by, and have now missed two weeks of that supplement.
1:46 While we all want our children to safely return to classrooms – the public health situation demands that we adjust to keep students, their families, and teachers safe due to the absence of a national testing strategy. But distance-learning has widened the digital divide – putting kids already at a disadvantage even farther behind. And teachers are forced to adapt to new technology and re-tool their curriculum with limited resources.
2:17 We’ll hear today from Anna Gutierrez, who works with Española Public Schools and knows first-hand the challenges schools, parents, and students face.
2:30 Local governments are facing terrible deficits, and are trying to avoid layoffs and keep basic services going. Services that keep us safe and healthy – police, fire, and waste disposal.
2:46 Today we’ll hear from Commissioner Bobby Sandoval from Curry County and City Councilor Michael Garcia from Santa Fe on the challenges before them and the need for local aid.
2:59 The terrible human and economic toll this pandemic has taken could have been eased – had the Trump administration harnessed every tool at their disposal to lead the nation through this crisis.
3:12 Instead, the president has ceded leadership to governors.
3:17 He’s ignored the virus – hoping it would magically disappear. He’s spread lies and misinformation, politicized the most basic measures to stop the spread, and ignored his own health experts’ advice. His incompetence is off the charts.
3:35 And the president’s lack of empathy and sheer callousness toward the frightening circumstances so many Americans face – especially Americans of color – is chilling.
3:49 While the president shrugs off the pandemic – saying, “It is what it is” – tens of millions of Americans simply don’t have the luxury of dismissing the devastating impacts of this virus.
4:04 To date, Congress has appropriated over $3 and a half trillion for coronavirus relief – and I’ve fought hard for those dollars. We’ve appropriated funds for testing and contact tracing, frontline health care workers, unemployment for workers, loans and grants for small businesses, and support for state and local governments. As vice chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, I pushed hard for targeted funding for Tribes, and secured $10 billion.
4:42 But this is by no means enough. The funding Congress passed this spring was intended to help short term. But we must act again.
4:52 It’s been three months since the House of Representatives passed the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act, which I support.
5:02 Since then, the public health and economic devastation has steadily worsened. Yet Senate Republicans and the president wouldn’t even come to the negotiating table until two weeks ago, claiming there wasn’t an “urgent” need.
5:18 But by then – the federal COVID unemployment insurance supplement and moratorium on evictions had nearly lapsed. And now too many New Mexicans and Americans can’t hang on.
5:30 The HEROES Act continues federal relief programs that have made all the difference for American families and injects new funding into the system.
5:43 The act:
- Continues the $600 unemployment supplement,
- Gives Americans another $1,200 direct relief payment,
- Gives essential workers hazard pay,
- Provides housing assistance for rent and mortgages and expands food assistance,
- Provides critical funding for schools and child care, and
- Supports state and local governments, pumping $5.4 billion into New Mexico.
6:18 These are the robust relief measures our nation needs to weather this economic upheaval.
6:24 However, the White House and Senate Republicans refuse to rise to the occasion. The White House doomed negotiations with Congressional Democrats. And the president’s executive orders don’t do the job and they won’t work. They reduce assistance for unemployed Americans struggling to make rent and feed their families, and they are far too narrow in scope.
6:54 Cutting New Mexicans’ unemployment by $200 a week is unacceptable, even if the president’s plan were to even materialize.
7:05 The American people need robust and comprehensive action from Congress now.
