Washington, D.C. (Oct. 12, 2020)—Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, issued the following statement in response to the White House’s latest inadequate coronavirus proposal:
 

“As we continue to battle the coronavirus pandemic, our country is in desperate need of real leadership to crush this virus, rescue our plummeting economy, and protect the American people.  Instead, this President and his Administration have led one of the worst responses on Earth—disregarding science, dissembling on a daily basis, and placing their own political interests over the interests of the American public—and more than 200,000 people have now died as a result.

“The Administration’s latest coronavirus proposal—coming after months of dithering since the House passed the Heroes Act to provide essential relief and protections to working families—is inexplicably short-sighted and wildly deficient.

“One of the most glaring omissions in the new White House proposal is its complete failure to provide any relief for Census workers who are trying diligently to count every household in the country during this once-in-a-generation pandemic.  Senior officials at the Census have stated publicly that the coronavirus crisis has made it impossible to conduct an accurate Census under the current deadlines.

“When Administration officials asked for an extension of these deadlines in April, the House gave them what they asked for when it passed the Heroes Act in May.  Unfortunately, the Administration has now tried to reverse course—forcing the Census Bureau at the last minute to count more people in less time than ever before.  The Administration’s actions are directly jeopardizing the Constitution’s core requirements for a complete and accurate Census.  They are also endangering the effectiveness of more than $1.5 trillion in funding over the next decade for health care, education, roads and bridges, and even jobs programs that many Americans will rely on to get back to work.”

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