Addressing the Coronavirus Crisis

As we grapple with the global crisis of COVID-19, including (as of March 24 at noon) 662 confirmed cases and at least 11 deaths in Los Angeles County, I know this is a time of intense anxiety and concern for many Angelenos. The coronavirus presents an unprecedented challenge that continues to grow in magnitude, and the health and economic effects are already being felt across our nation in dramatic ways. I am confident we will get through this, but the extent of the damage this virus will cause will be determined in no small part by what we do now to slow its spread as we work to mitigate its effects.

First, it is critical that everyone listen to the advice of experts, like the Centers for Disease Control and the LA County Dept. of Public Health, in the days ahead. As of March 19, experts urged that we practice “social distancing” – limiting social contact with others as much as possible. By doing so, we can reduce the number of infections and maintain a manageable load on our hospital system. This is especially important advice for the young and healthy to internalize – we all need to make sacrifices and smart changes in our daily lives in order to help protect our elderly and immunocompromised neighbors.

Every single one of us has an important role to play in slowing the spread of this virus. What we do now matters. But we also will need massive interventions by the federal government to ensure our hospitals and clinics have the resources and capacity to treat the virus and to mitigate the economic damage for millions of Americans whose livelihoods are already affected.

On March 5, Congress passed a bipartisan $8.3 billion emergency funding package. This emergency funding includes treatment and vaccine research, public health funding to ensure state and local hospitals and health systems are better prepared, and low-interest loans to help small businesses that are already being severely impacted by this epidemic.

As the crisis evolved, the House passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on March 14. This bipartisan agreement will bolster the federal government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak and address the severe impacts on Americans’ personal safety and financial security through food assistance, enhanced unemployment insurance, safeguarding Medicare benefits, and extending paid sick leave benefits to millions of Americans.

As businesses across California are being asked to close down to help us slow the spread of the coronavirus, and others are experiencing a loss of customers due to social distancing measures, I know many small business owners are struggling to make ends meet and are concerned about what the future holds. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering low-interest federal disaster loans to California small businesses impacted by the coronavirus. More information on these disaster loans can be found at SBA.gov/coronavirus.

These are important steps, but more will surely need to be done. Our response up to this point has been badly hampered by a lack of testing capacity and, while that is slowly changing, it is certain that as we test more cases, we will likely find that the virus is even more widespread than we currently believe.

I want you to know that I will be here for you in any way I can and, while we are mostly teleworking, my staff and I are answering the phones and stand ready to assist you. We update information on our website on a constant basis, and send important updates through e-newsletters as well. We have just conducted two telephone town halls with my constituents, and I hope you will join me for one in the future. I will continue my work in Congress to ensure the full power of the federal government is brought to bear as we confront this crisis together, and that I do everything possible to get good information out to my constituents every day. I encourage everyone to consult the CDC (cdc.gov), the Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health (publichealth.lacounty.gov), as well as my website (schiff.house.gov/help/coronavirus-information) for reliable information.

The days ahead will not be easy, but I am confident that we will see our way through them to a strong and healthy future.