Press Releases

SPRINGFIELD, MA – House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement regarding the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2020 jobs report which shows the unemployment rate at 13.3 percent:

“Our country is in crisis. Nearly 110,000 Americans have died due to COVID-19, and more than 42 million are out of work. Longstanding systemic injustices in our nation are front and center; they’re the reason communities of color disproportionately feel the health and economic effects of this pandemic, and they’re what have prompted thousands of people in all 50 states to take to the streets in peaceful protest.

“Yet as millions remain out of work and American deaths continue to multiply, Senate Republicans look the other way and refuse to take action. Three weeks ago today, the House passed the Heroes Act, legislation that provides critical support for workers, families, and small businesses. And for three weeks, Mitch McConnell has disregarded that bill and ignored the millions of Americans who are suffering. There is no time to waste. Lives are on the line. The Senate must act.”

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