Bay Area members of Congress are calling on Republican lawmakers to support a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that the U.S. Senate is expected to take up this week. The push comes as thousands of local workers in battered industries – including most recently United Airlines workers at SFO – face a fresh round of furloughs and layoffs.
In a press event Tuesday, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said the pandemic has devastated his district’s economy, which is driven by tourism, travel and recreation.
“We still got a really long, difficult road ahead of us and without decisive, comprehensive help, families and employers in my district, also throughout California and around this country, just can’t keep the lights on for much longer,” said Huffman, whose district spans from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.
Huffman and 218 other House Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan Act last weekend without a single Republican vote.
The bill includes a one-time stimulus check of up to $1,400 per person, and emergency measures to protect jobs, such as $15 billion to extend the Payroll Support Program, which has stopped furloughs and layoffs for workers in the aviation industry but is set to expire on March 31.
On Jan. 29, United Airlines notified more than 3,100 workers based at San Francisco International Airport of potential involuntary furloughs starting in April, according to official filings the company submitted with the California Employment Development Department.