Since COVID-19 first began to spread, Richie has worked closely with colleagues in the House and Senate to address the pandemic.
This is a twofold crisis: a public health emergency, paired with an economic body blow that has harmed middle-class and working-class people most of all. Richie’s response has taken both challenges into account.
Reckoning with the Public Health Crisis
To meet the challenge posed by COVID-19, Richie led the way on allocating $200 billion nationally for health care provision. That money went directly toward free testing, high-quality treatment, protective gear for frontline health care workers, and more. Thanks to his leadership, Massachusetts received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid to benefit doctors, nurses and patients.
In Western and Central Massachusetts, that aid has gone to health care providers in Great Barrington, Holyoke, Huntington, Pittsfield, Southbridge, Springfield, Worthington, and other cities and towns.
“Health care heroes keep us safe, and it’s my job to have their backs.”
He has gone above and beyond to ensure that health care workers here and across the country are treated fairly by the Trump administration. When the Department of Homeland Security planned to seize a shipment of protective equipment intended for doctors and nurses in Springfield, Richie put his foot down, and made sure the masks got to the workers who needed them. And he has closely monitored the way the government has distributed this relief money.
Crucially, Richie has also demanded that Congress pay attention to those most affected by the virus. He has used his post as Ways and Means Committee Chair to hold much-needed hearings on the crisis in nursing homes dealing with the spread of COVID-19, and on the disproportionate impact of the virus on communities of color.
Relief for Those Who Need It Most
Richie has also worked tirelessly to bring economic relief to workers, families, and small businesses. He knows well that federal aid can be the boost hardworking people need to survive trying times. He’s a son of the working class who lost his parents at a young age, and was raised by his grandmother, who could afford to raise him thanks to the Social Security survivors’ benefits his parents left behind.
Richie ensured that the relief packages prioritized expanding and strengthening unemployment insurance, offering paid sick days and family and medical leave, and extending tax credits to keep small businesses open and workers on the payroll.
As Chairman of Ways and Means, he has taken the lead in bringing direct assistance to working people, including those who have lost jobs. That means:
- Expanding unemployment insurance with an extra $600 weekly.
- Sending $1200 to every low- and middle-income American.
- Extending unemployment benefits to gig workers and self-employed people.
- Adding an additional 13 weeks to states unemployment benefits.
- Expanding work-sharing programs to keep more people employed.
At the same time, the best way to maintain hope of full recovery in the long term is to help small businesses - the real muscle behind our economy - survive in the near term.
That’s why Richie put together a package of more than $730 billion in small business relief and job retention programs, to keep the doors open, the lights on, and employees on the payroll.
You don’t have to look far beyond your front door to find a local business in Western or Central Massachusetts that has benefited from these badly needed measures. Here are some of their stories:
These extraordinary measures are still not enough - it’s also necessary to protect those among us who are most vulnerable in an economic crisis.
That’s why Richie prioritized a freeze on foreclosures. He also fought for - and won - $2 billion in new federal investment to address emergency housing needs, homelessness, and food insecurity. Portions of that investment have gone to every county in the 1st Congressional District. And he recently hosted a Committee hearing focused on the child-care crisis created by the pandemic, so that Congress could hear directly from essential workers.
Support for Every Sector Dealing with the Crisis
The fallout from the pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives. Richie has not only acted to safeguard the health and economic futures of all Americans - he has also worked to bridge the gap for all kinds of services that have been impacted.
Richie knows that the federal government doesn’t always have the answers. Local governments are in the best position to know what’s needed on the ground, but with revenues from sales, income, and property taxes plummeting, they would not have been able to implement their solutions.
Thanks to Richie’s work, billions in aid has gone directly to cities, towns, and regional agencies, allowing them to ramp up essential services instead of shutting them down. That means:
Support for our public schools as they scramble to adjust to online classes.
Help for the overwhelmed agencies that process unemployment claims.
Keeping local and regional transit running, safely, so essential workers can still get to work.
Relief for higher education institutions, one of the biggest employers in the district - including community colleges and technical schools.
Stopgap funding for cultural institutions, to preserve the rich cultural heritage of Western and Central Mass.
“As we confront this global crisis, know this: I’ll always have your back, and we can make it through this together.”
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