COVID-19 is keeping our children from attending school. It’s harming our restaurants and small businesses, and the tens of thousands of Oregonians they employ. It’s keeping us from gathering for church, holiday musicals, high school football games, PTA meetings, and so much more. 

But what’s worse is the lack of support from our federal government. This crisis is exactly why we have a federal government. And that government needs to step up - with additional support for small businesses and under-or unemployed workers. It needs to provide resources to school districts so that they can get kids back in the classroom or provide them with the support they need to learn remotely. It needs to move forward a stimulus package that will put people back to work when this crisis has subsided. 

Otherwise the onus on whether to leave employees without a job to pay for food and rent falls on a small business owner. Otherwise the decision to stay at home to help homeschool your struggling child instead of going to work to pay your bills falls on the single parent. Otherwise the decision to buy local versus ordering something to be delivered by Amazon falls on the lone consumer, who wants to support her neighborhood businesses, but not endanger her health or those of others. 

The fact that we are relying on individuals to weigh these hard decisions is unconscionable. These do not have to be opposing decisions. But the lack of federal support has made them so. 

It is time to pass federal legislation modeled on the Heroes Act the House of Representatives passed in May. Please send a message to Congress today.