WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senators voted down the Senate Majority Leader’s narrow COVID-19 bill, which was introduced earlier this week. As written, the bill fails to provide substantive relief for renters, student loan borrowers, small business owners, unemployed workers, and other people who are still struggling during this pandemic. The bill did not receive bipartisan support.
Center for Responsible Lending Federal Advocacy Director and Senior Counsel Ashley Harrington released the following statement:
This bill is an inadequate response to our current economic fallout and public health crisis. More than five months have passed since Congress approved a substantive, bipartisan bill to help families stay afloat during this pandemic. Low-income families, particularly families of color who have yet to recover from the Great Recession, have been hit the hardest by this pandemic and the economic fallout. Without a comprehensive response, renters will continue to live with anxiety under threat of eviction, student borrowers will suffocate under crushing debt, and small business owners will close their doors permanently, which will distress local economies.
The Senate needs to put forward a bill that incorporates the commonsense principles of the HEROES Act, which passed the House in May, if we want to make real progress in addressing the COVID-19 crisis. Inaction and subpar responses to this pandemic is dangerous, irresponsible, and unacceptable. Each day that passes without a comprehensive bill will cause irreparable harm to families who are living on the margins and struggling to get by.
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Press Contact: ricardo.quinto@responsiblelending.org