Keystone State News Connection

November 27, 2020

PA Organizations Call for Action on COVID Relief

Andrea Sears

HARRISBURG, Pa. — More than fifty advocacy organizations have sent a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation urging immediate action on a new COVID relief package.

Ten months into the COVID pandemic, more than 1.3 million Pennsylvania households report they are struggling to put food on the table and half a million households have fallen behind in their rent.

Jeff Garis, outreach director for the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, said many provisions of relief packages passed early this year, such as extended unemployment assistance and the moratorium on eviction, will expire if Congress doesn’t act when they return from the Thanksgiving recess.

“We need to know that when people get to the holidays they’re not going to find themselves cut off from the vital aid that they need,” Garis emphasized. “So, we are calling on our members of Congress and our Senators, don’t be the Grinch this year.”

The House passed the HEROES Act, an expanded relief bill, in May but so far the Senate has failed to pass a supplemental relief bill.

Garis contended the two so-called “skinny relief” packages proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would do little to meet the growing need.

“In both cases, he didn’t have enough votes to even pass that,” Garis observed. “So, we have to see a renewed emphasis in the Senate on getting realistic about the kind of relief that people across Pennsylvania and across the country need.”

He said with millions set to lose benefits on the day after Christmas, Congress at least needs to pass what he calls a short-term down payment on a broader relief bill.

Garis hopes such a package would include extensions of the eviction moratorium and unemployment assistance.

“We are also calling for an increase in SNAP benefits, the program that used to be called food stamps,” Garis noted. “We want to see that increased by 15% to help families put food on the table.”

A recent report from The Century Foundation found without congressional action, 12 million people nationwide will lose federal benefits on Dec. 26.

Pennsylvania high court rejects lawsuit challenging election
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court has thrown out a lower court’s order preventing the state from certifying dozens of contests on its Nov. 3 election ballot. At issue is the latest lawsuit filed by Republicans attempting to thwart President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. In a unanimous decision Saturday night, the state Supreme Court threw out a judge’s recent order to halt certification of any remaining contests. The justices say the underlying lawsuit was filed months too late. The Republican plaintiffs had sought to either throw out the 2.5 million mail-in ballots submitted under the law or direct the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature to pick Pennsylvania’s presidential electors.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising on Wall Street Friday at the start of a shortened trading session. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, led by gains in technology companies. Stocks are set to end the abbreviated trading week with a gain, with investors encouraged by progress in getting a vaccine distributed and halting the pandemic’s grip on the global economy. Meanwhile, retailers are hoping that their slumping sales can get a boost from shoppers on Black Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which earlier this week crossed 30,000 for the first time, rose 0.4%. U.S. markets close at 1 pm Eastern after being shut for the Thanksgiving holiday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump still won’t bring himself to concede the election he decisively lost to President-elect Joe Biden. But he’s now acknowledging he will leave the White House if Biden’s win is affirmed by the Electoral College, which is firmly on track to do just that in a few weeks. Trump took questions from reporters Thursday for the first time since the election. While he won’t acknowledge that Biden beat him fair and square, there were some signs Trump is coming to terms with his defeat. For example, he expressed concern that Biden will end up getting the credit for coronavirus vaccines developed in the Trump era.

COLCHESTER, Vt. (AP) — As coronavirus cases are surging around the country, some colleges and universities are rethinking some of their plans for next semester. Those not joining the growing number that will offer only virtual learning are assessing how they would bring students back while the virus is raging nationwide. Schools are planning adjustments to testing protocols, introducing new screenings, and eliminating spring breaks to discourage students from traveling to help keep campuses open.