National Women's Law Center Responds to House Proposal for Next Coronavirus Relief Measure HEROES Act

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- The National Women's Law Center issued the following statement on May 15 by President and CEO Fatima Goss Graves:

"The HEROES Act introduced by the House this week goes a long way toward immediate relief - but not the full recovery working families deserve. Expanding access to paid leave and the ACA Marketplaces, strengthening public health options, stabilizing housing and nutrition access, and providing direct payments to working families nationwide are critical measures that will help alleviate the suffering of so many workers on the frontlines and their families.

"However the scale of this crisis requires far more, and today - with every vote - our elected officials must remember this, and recommit themselves to building for our future.

"Without a more robust investment in our nation's child care system, women and caregivers will be devastated by any attempt to reopen the economy. And without underlying reforms to unemployment protections that include new jobseekers and respond to economic conditions rather than arbitrary deadlines, we risk turning off economic aid before the worst of the recession is over.

"Anything less will be a betrayal to the millions of hardworking people in this country - especially women who have been disproportionately burdened by the crisis."