CED Issues Statement Urging Congress & Administration to Swiftly Adopt Bipartisan Agreement on COVID-19 Relief Funding

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Trustees of the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED)?business leaders from across the country, representing virtually every industry of the economy?urge Congress and the Administration to act now, before this session of Congress adjourns, to provide economic relief from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early this year, our government responded quickly and cooperatively across the political aisle to enhance unemployment benefits; provide liquidity to small businesses; backstop the availability of credit; support state and local governments; address the public health crisis; and support the development of a vaccine and prepare for its distribution. Sadly, the pandemic has much outlasted the relief. And now several major pillars of that support are about to be dismantled, just as the pandemic has been surging across the country.

CED urges that follow-on legislation include the following essential funding to: 

• Strengthen the health care system to deal with the new wave of infections, including essential funding for health care institutions, personal protective equipment, and acquisition, delivery, and administration of vaccines;
• Extend unemployment compensation for the long-term unemployed, renew benefits for contractors, and augment benefits to provide greater replacement of lost wages;
• Combat food and housing insecurity with greater SNAP benefits and funding for eviction and foreclosure abatement;
• Assist states and municipalities by replacing their loss of revenues caused by the pandemic, which will merely allow the maintenance of needed services, including first responders;
• Stabilize the childcare industry through a fund to keep providers open and thereby help parents to return to work;
• Provide funding for schools to reopen safely, reimbursing them for the extraordinary costs including social distancing and sanitation;
• Extend the reach of the Paycheck Protection Program to smaller businesses, and provide the necessary funding to keep businesses alive for the economic recovery; and
• Help businesses to reopen by limiting COVID-19 infection liability for those who can demonstrate that they acted responsibly and in good faith.

The economy deteriorates with every passing day. Compromise is crucial. We ask you to find common ground and act now, before tragedy becomes catastrophe.

Read CED's First 100 Days Plan, which includes its calls for immediate relief.

About CED
The Committee for Economic Development is the Public Policy Center of The Conference Board that delivers well-researched analysis, and non-partisan, reasoned solutions in the nation's interest. www.ced.org

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what's ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org

SOURCE Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED)