After Congress agreed to pass the CARES Act in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote to House Democrats that it is time to “double down” on those efforts.
Speaker Pelosi cites the recent increase of 6.6 million unemployment claims, 700,000 jobs lost in March, over 245,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 6,000 deceased because of the virus to pass a CARES 2 package.
“The acceleration of the coronavirus demands that we double down on the down payment we made in CARES by passing a CARES 2 package,” Speaker Pelosi wrote. “We must extend and expand this bipartisan legislation to meet the needs of the American people.”
In late March, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law, which will provide aid to Federal agencies including funds for IT and telework infrastructure. The House’s version of the relief package included $3 billion increase in funding to the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), but was not a part of the final bill.
“As we fight the virus day to day, we must work on an infrastructure package for recovery that addresses some of the critical impacts and vulnerabilities in America that have been laid bare by the coronavirus,” Speaker Pelosi wrote.
