Pennsylvania Senate Democrats have now put forward a bold plan to provide relief to the many Pennsylvanians who are still struggling with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, by borrowing funds at low interest rates. This is known as the PA CARES21 Act. The Federal government has spent months debating and failing to pass any sort of continued relief. We can't wait any longer - as the Federal government has so far failed to meet the moment, we need the state to step up and pass urgently-needed relief for its residents.

Join in us contacting your state legislators, urging them to support the PA CARES21 Act. Pennsylvanians, hospitals, and our locally-owned businesses and more are relying on them to take action NOW.  

1. The PA CARES21 Act is desperately needed—not just to provide immediate relief to locally-owned businesses, the unemployed, the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who need housing assistance, local governments, our schools, health care providers, hospitals, front-line workers, and others, but to keep the Pennsylvania economy from falling deeper into recession.

By failing to use the remainder of the CARES funds to provide aid to vulnerable Pennsylvanians, and especially to our small businesses, front-line workers and health care providers, the General Assembly abandoned their responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in this crisis. We can already see evidence that the economy is slowing again, as many elements of the Federal CARES Act have ended and the COVID-19 cases have been spiking.

2. The PA CARES21 Act makes financial sense for the state to borrow funds to help Pennsylvanians overcome this once-in-a-lifetime emergency. Just as we borrow funds to spread the cost of infrequent natural disasters and war over more than one year borrowing to spread the pain of a once-in-a-lifetime natural disaster makes sense.

This program would likely add, not subtract, from state funds in the short term. The long-term costs are manageable, in part because interest rates are close to their historic low. The economic stimulus it provides will generate immediate revenues for the state this year and the next. And the provision of aid to small businesses and workers will reduce the demands for state services for unemployment insurance, Medical Assistance, and other programs.

3. The economic benefits will continue over a longer term. For example, helping restaurants in our tourist industry survive during the crisis will leave them in place in Pennsylvania tourist destinations once the pandemic ends.

The Senate Democrats are offering Pennsylvania the right plan at the right moment. Please tell your legislators to support immediately upon returning to Harrisburg in January.