Contact: Speaker’s Press Office,

202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after it was reported that GDP contracted by nearly one-third in the second quarter and jobless claims rose to 1.43 million:

“Ten weeks after House Democrats passed The Heroes Act to defeat the coronavirus and safely reopen the economy, Senate Republicans’ ongoing delay continues to wreak its deadly toll on the lives and livelihoods of the American people.

“Millions of America’s children are food insecure.  Families are on the verge of eviction.  Tens of millions of Americans have applied for Unemployment Insurance, with more than 1 million people applying each week for 19 weeks straight.  Nearly 4.5 million Americans have been infected, and 150,000 are tragically dead.

“Disaster is on America’s doorstep.  As Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said yesterday, ‘The path forward for the economy is extraordinarily uncertain and will depend in large part on our success in keeping the virus in check…  This pandemic and its fallout really represents the biggest shock to the U.S. economy in living memory.’

“Republicans need to get serious immediately, and work with Democrats to save lives and livelihoods during this devastating time.”

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