A pair of Democratic U.S. representatives are leading the call for House leaders to broaden the definition of essential workers to include family caregivers and child care workers in the next relief package.
Democratic Reps. Joaquin Castro of Texas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico, along with over 30 of their colleagues, made the bid in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and minority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
“The first three COVID-19 relief bills largely overlooked the needs of caregivers and those whose care needs may be best served in their homes,” the lawmakers.
They suggested the government develop “one-stop web portal and app” for essential workers to access information, find resources, assess eligibility forms for programs and apply for benefits.
The reps said family caregivers and child care workers — who number over 52 million — aren’t included in the previous relief bills. They added of the total, 33 million are unpaid primary family caregivers of seniors and people with disabilities.
“The frontlines of this crisis start at home and will remain there as we fight this pandemic for the long haul,” Castro said in a statement, The Hill reported. “The gross inequality of our health care and childcare systems is starker than ever, and that includes a complete lack of support for our nation’s caregivers.”
The timing of the next relief package, known as the CARES 2 act, is expected to include hundreds of billions of dollars more to help workers, businesses and families weather the crisis. Pelosi has proposed $1 trillion for the next round of aid.
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