WASHINGTON, DC– Today, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) joined eighteen of his colleagues from the Problem Solvers Caucus in calling on Congress to act on a four-month bipartisan, bicameral COVID-19 emergency relief framework that would provide critical relief to Ohioans and bolster efforts to distribute a vaccine.

“The pandemic is as bad as it’s ever been and our communities need relief,” said Joyce. “For too many months, Washington has engaged in a partisan messaging war while our health care professionals, working families, small businesses, students, restaurant owners, and seniors struggle to cope with the devastating impacts of this pandemic. The urgency is real and the time to act is now. With this four-month COVID-19 emergency relief package, our bipartisan, bicameral group has proven that finding common ground is not impossible, it’s what we need to protect the health of the American people and their economic security. We may come from different states and opposing sides of the aisle, but we stand united in calling on Congress to bring this bipartisan relief package up for a vote.”

The framework allocates $908 billion total in aid, including new funding and the reallocation of previously appropriated CARES Act funding. The framework targets those resources to the following categories:

• State, Local, and Tribal Governments – $160 billion
• Additional Unemployment Insurance (UI) – $180 billion
• Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) including restaurants, stages, and deductibility – $288 billion
• CDFI/MDI Community Lender Support – $12 billion
• Transportation (Airlines, Airports, Buses, Transit and Amtrak) – $45 billion
• Vaccine Development and Distribution and Testing and Tracing – $16 billion
• Healthcare Provider Relief Fund – $35 billion
• Education Funding – $82 billion
• Student Loans – $4 billion
• Housing Assistance (Rental) – $25 billion
• Nutrition/Agriculture – $26 billion
• U.S. Postal Service – $10 billion
• Child Care – $10 billion     
• Dedicated Broadband Funding – $10 billion
• Opioid Funding – $5 billion

Since the passage of the CARES Act, Joyce has consistently called on Congress and Congressional leadership to put politics aside and address the needs of Ohioans and Americans across the country negatively impacted by the pandemic. In August, Joyce joined 17 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle in sending a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, urging them to immediately resume negotiations to confront the health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In September, Joyce joined his colleagues in the Problem Solvers Caucus in unveiling a bipartisan relief proposal to help break the gridlock on the latest COVID-19 relief package and encourage negotiators to get back to the table.  

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