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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Today, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a new law that will provide an estimated $2 trillion in targeted spending to battle the public health impacts and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
There are some really good things in the CARES Act. They include payments of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child for most Americans in the next three weeks. There are loans to small businesses as well as an expansion of unemployment insurance benefits for self-employed workers. The package covers everything from health care to schools to transit. More details about the stimulus package are available here.
This national package is an important step because the scale of the pandemic’s impacts are bigger than any state or local government can handle by itself. The federal government will likely need a few weeks to figure out the details, and I look forward to figuring out how these dollars can best help Oregonians.
In the meantime, state legislative leaders agree that the emergency response proposal put forth by the Joint Special Committee on Coronavirus Response is worth moving forward. There is bipartisan agreement that the committee has done good work and that communities need relief as soon as possible. I’d like to particularly highlight these statements from my Republican colleagues:
“In difficult times such as these, Oregonians unite and come together. The Legislature’s Joint Special Committee on Coronavirus Response has embodied that Oregon spirit of unity and worked with a common purpose to provide support and aid to help meet the needs of Oregonians.” -- House Republican Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby)
“Regardless of the situation, the Senate Republicans are prepared to work with the Governor to help bring immediate relief to Oregonians during this unprecedented time. We are awaiting the Governor’s recommendations so the legislature can respond accordingly.” -- Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger Jr. (R-Grants Pass)
There’s still work to do, but we are making progress on the details. I support a state investment of about $75 million to fill in the gaps while we wait for the federal money to make its way to Oregon. The needs are clear: whether it’s rent assistance, helping small businesses, or shoring up our domestic violence support services, Oregonians are counting on all elected leaders to take decisive action now.
- Governor Brown released additional information about how her Stay Home, Save Lives order applies to people experiencing homelessness. In addition to more guidance for shelter operators, she also made it clear that individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness should not be subject to enforcement of the order merely because they are in public and unable to “stay at home.”
- The Oregon Health Authority announced 98 more diagnosed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 414. This is the largest single day increase in diagnosed cases, which is expected given our increasing testing capacity. Sadly, another individual has passed away, bringing the total of Oregon deaths from coronavirus to 12. A more detailed breakdown of our statewide data is posted below.
Watch the video below to see OHA Senior Health Advisor Dawn Mautner, MD, explain why diagnosed cases will go up in the near future, even as the Stay Home, Save Lives directive is in place.
While the rise in coronavirus cases continues to be troubling, there is some promising news to report. Estimates released Thursday by the Institute for Disease Modeling shows that the Stay Safe, Saves Lives executive order came at a crucial time for Oregon to stop the spread of coronavirus. It’s important to note that these models do not predict the future. They give us an idea of what could happen if we keep doing the right things. The green sections of the charts show that if Oregonians stay home as much as possible, we can dramatically reduce the number of infections and therefore prevent our hospitals from being completely overwhelmed. The Oregonian has a helpful story on this here.
The Oregon Department of Human Services announced yesterday that all Oregonians eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be able to buy food online for delivery from Walmart and Amazon. This is an important change at a critical time since shopping in person could put yourself or someone else in danger.
Also, Portland Public Schools will return to providing daily meals for children and teenagers in need on Monday, March 30. For up-to-date and multilingual information about where to access food, please visit OregonFoodFinder.org.
In yesterday’s newsletter, I provided an update on how to donate personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline health care workers, such as gloves, gowns and masks (link for donations here), as well as specific instructions for how to make masks to donate to Salem Health Hospitals.
The nationwide shortage of PPE remains an enormous problem, but I do have some positive news to share. Salem Health created kits for volunteers to pick up and make masks. So many volunteers came to the hospital to pick up materials for 10,000 masks that they ran out in only two hours. Thank you to all the amazing volunteers who are going above and beyond to support others in need!
We will continue to sound alarm bells and put pressure on the federal government to increase our statewide supply of PPE.
For up to date information, please check this link to the Oregon Health Authority where regular updates are posted: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/News-Releases.aspx
Please email me at Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov if you have specific concerns that have not been addressed by the OHA. Our office will do all we can to help and protect all Oregonians.
Thank you for reading! We will get through this together.
Best,
Tina Kotek
State Representative
House District 44
Speaker of the House
email: Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1200
address: 900 Court St NE, H-269, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kotek
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