OCA COMMENDS BIPARTISAN HOUSE LEADERSHIP FOR UPCOMING COVID19 STIMULUS ACT

Written By Kent Tong

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

14 May 2020

Contact: Matthew Nguyen-Ngo | Civil Rights Fellow
202.223.5500 | matthew.nguyen.ngo@ocanational.org

Washington, DC – OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates applauds the House of Representatives’ leadership in addressing many of the communities’ most pressing needs in the “Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions” (HEROES) Act, expected to come to a vote this Friday. This comprehensive 1,800+ page bill fulfills many of the priorities OCA has been advocating for to help families and communities weather the COVID-19 crisis.

These priorities include:

  • Funding for hate crimes investigation and prevention through the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act,

  • Economic Impact Payments for individuals with Taxpayer Identification Numbers instead of Social Security Numbers, which would retroactively provide them with the full value of federal stimulus aid,

  • $75 billion for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, including coverage for treatment of immigrants through Emergency Medicaid,

  • 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave through 2021,

  • Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) providing food aid to all regardless of immigration status,

  • $100 billion for emergency rental assistance,

  • Emergency election protections including universal mail-in voting,

  • Unlimited lifeline minutes and data to preserve internet/communications access for all,

  • $10,000 of student loan debt cancellation,

  • $90 billion for states to fund public education institutions,

  • $1.7 billion for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions,

  • Preserving educational civil rights by limiting the Secretary of Education’s IDEA Act waiver authority and ensuring funds meant for low-income students in public schools go where they are needed,

  • And $400 million to ensure the integrity of the 2020 Census.

While there are areas in which the bill could be made even stronger, we want to stress the immediate urgency of implementing these solutions. We ask fellow organizations and individuals to join us in advocating for the passage of the HEROES Act in the House, and for the introduction of the bill to the Senate.

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OCA–Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national civil rights organization dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).

Kent Tong
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