Rep. Gallego Votes to Pass the Heroes Act
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) voted to pass the Heroes Act to address the needs of those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He released the following statement:
"Around 40% of households making less than 40,000 dollars a year have lost their jobs. 36.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the past 8 weeks. 87,000 Americans have died. Essential workers without adequate pay and personal protective equipment are putting themselves at risk every day to do everything from stocking our grocery store shelves to caring for our loved ones in intensive care units.
"But my Republican colleagues want to hit ‘pause' and see how much worse it gets. This is the largest national crisis our nation has had in decades. If we don't seize the moment to get ahead of the severe public health and economic issues that we know will continue, more lives will be lost and it will be even costlier to jump start the economy in the future. Waiting and hoping it won't get worse is the same attitude President Trump had that got us into this crisis in the first place.
"This bill is not perfect. But when I go back home and look the firefighters, police officers, first responders health care workers, caregivers, teachers, pension holders, students, families, small business owners, veterans, and Native American brothers and sisters in the eye, I'll tell them I did everything I could to help them. I'll tell them that I voted for this legislation, and that I didn't wait around to see how much worse it can get."