“With 3 million confirmed cases in the United States, no one – not even President Trump – can deny that our country is experiencing an unprecedented public health crisis, one that has already taken the lives of over 133,000 of our fellow Americans and which threatens the lives and livelihoods of so many more.  Our nation’s public health experts have made it clear that, until we have found and deployed an effective vaccine, the only way to protect and save lives is to limit the spread of infections by staying home, wearing masks, and observing social distancing guidelines.  The record-shattering surge in new cases over the past two weeks can be attributed to a failure in several states to observe that strategy and of certain elected officials to advocate their adoption by all.  Future Americans will look back in disbelief at the irresponsible actions that led to many preventable infections and deaths, which have disproportionately impacted minority communities.    “It has now been more than seven weeks since the Democratic-led House passed the Heroes Act, the next major legislative package to address the COVID-19 crisis and provide states and local governments with aid to combat the spread of this virus and protect against its economic impacts.  For seven weeks, Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans have been sitting on their hands, neither taking action to advance the Heroes Act nor writing their own bill to achieve the same ends.  Meanwhile, many of the CARES Act’s provisions have expired or are set to expire in the coming days, and our economy cannot fully reopen while new cases continue to surge.  State and local governments are desperate for federal assistance in order to keep local heroes like teachers, first responders, and other public servants from losing their jobs and to support critical services for their residents in this time of difficulty.    “As we cross this 3 million mark, I urge Senate Republicans to do their jobs and take action.  Our nation’s leaders must not shrink from their responsibility to lead at a time when we so desperately require concerted action to save lives and protect the economic security of so many millions of our people.”