CONGRESS: PASS A STAND-ALONECORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY BILL
ACTION ONE: CALL YOUR SENATORS
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WYDEN AND MERKLEY:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
It is outrageous that Trump wants to pay for fighting the Coronavirus by taking funds out of the Low-IncomeHeating Assistance Program and the Ebola response program. Congress must leave these funds along and quickly pass a stand-alone funding bill to tackle the Coronavirus.
CALL SENATOR MERKLEY
CALL SENATOR WYDEN
ACTION TWO: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS
Not sure who your U.S. Representative is? Find out here.
SAMPLE SCRIPTS FOR REPRESENTATIVES:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
It is outrageous that Trump wants to pay for fighting the Coronavirus by taking funds out of the Low-Income Heating Assistance Program and the Ebola response program. Congress must leave these funds along and quickly pass a stand-alone funding bill to tackle the Coronavirus.
CALL SUZANNE BONAMICI (OR-01)
CALL GREG WALDEN (OR-02)
CALL BLUMENAUER (OR-03)
CALL PETER DEFAZIO (OR-04)
CALL KURT SCHRADER (OR-05)
BACKGROUND:
America is unprepared to tackle Coronavirus because of Trump’s cuts to the CDC’s budget and his shuttering of the National Security Council’s and the Department of Homeland Security’s global health security teams.
Trump is scrambling, asking Congress for $2.5 billion to address Coronavirus. But instead of using the system Congress has for funding emergencies, the White House wants to take $37 million from the Low-Income Heating Assistance Program and $535 million from the Ebola preparedness program to fund emergency work on the Coronavirus.
Never mind how cruel it is to cut heating funding in winter ($37 million would heat homes for 750,000 families), or how foolish it is to stop work on the Ebola virus. Taking money crucial programs is also unnecessary.
Congress has a special system for funding emergencies that is outside the usual budget process. There doesn’t need to be a battle about transferring money among accounts. Emergency funding is also tightly tied to addressing the emergency. It cannot be diverted to other programs if there is a surplus.
This looming funding fight is unnecessary just as we face a real emergency. Congress should pass a stand-alone emergency Coronavirus spending bill. Quickly.
SOURCES:
Trump has already hamstrung the US Coronavirus response
CDC official warns that Coronavirus epidemic in US is inevitable: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/25/health/coronavirus-us-american-cases/index.html
Transfer $37 million from LIHEAP: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/25/behind-our-sluggish-response-coronavirus-an-unnecessary-battle-over-funding/
Transfer $535 from Ebola program: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/white-house-seeks-2-5b-coronavirus-pelosi-says-s-not-n1142276
Administration response to date: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/what-we-know-about-the-trump-admins-response-to-coronavirus.html
