Contact federal Louisiana Senators to pass Families First Coronavirus Response

Our city, state, country, and the world are facing an unprecedented challenge in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As many Americans are still coming to grips with the seriousness of this global pandemic and the need for action, we first hope that you and your family are safe and healthy.
 
New Orleans is dealing with one of the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 in the nation, and the vigilance and compassion of every citizen will be necessary to slow the transmission of the disease and avoid overwhelming our hospitals with critical cases.
 
The Louisiana Legislature has voted to suspend the session until at least March 31. We agree with the decision, which will protect public health and ensure that all legislation under consideration has the opportunity to be considered in a public forum.
 
However, the economic impact of the necessary steps to combat this public health emergency will be dire for the State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans. Our economy thrives on tourism and our vibrant service industry.
 
We are asking all citizens to contact our federal Louisiana Senators and urge them to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This legislation passed the House of Representatives late last week and is currently awaiting a Senate vote.

CONTACT SENATORS Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy>

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act will provide assistance to Louisiana residents impacted by the novel coronavirus in the following ways:

Nutrition Supports:

• Additional funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to provide nutrition assistance children and their mothers who have lost their jobs as a result of the outbreak.
• Waiver authority to allow flexibility for states in providing emergency food assistance and flexibility in how and where nutrition support is administered to accommodate for school, childcare, and adult care centers closing.
• Supplemental funding for local food banks to meet the increased need in communities.

Health: 

• Free coronavirus testing for all Americans.
• Coverage of a provider visit to receive testing for Americans enrolled in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). 
• Increased funding for public health programs including Medicaid and CHIP by increasing states’ federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) during the emergency.

Unemployment and leave benefits:  

• Immediate fully paid sick leave for 14 days for those working for employers with under 500 employees when they are sick, or two weeks of 2/3 pay to care for a family member.
• The ability to take up to three months of job-protected family and medical leave due to COVID-19 impacts. 
• Emergency grants to states to meet the increased need for Unemployment Insurance benefits.  

A summary of all provisions can be found here >
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act is likely the first step in the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There will also be state and local legislation that requires your support, as well as action steps we must all take to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect our fellow citizens from this public health emergency.
 
Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans will continue to provide information as we receive it. Please encourage others you know to subscribe to our email distribution list to receive this information. There is no city or region better prepared for tackling a problem as large as the COVID-19 pandemic than New Orleans. 
 
We will get through this together.