COVID-19
Provide immediate relief to small businesses
As a small business owner himself, Dean understands how difficult the pandemic and resulting economic fallout has been for so many small business owners, sole proprietors, and self-employed individuals. So after many conversations with local small business owners, Dean worked with his Republican colleague Chip Roy to pass the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act. Dean’s bill passed nearly unanimously through a divided Congress before being signed into law by the President, and it helped millions of American small business owners keep their doors open.
Ensure appropriate oversight and transparency
The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime. We have met the challenge with one of the largest allocations of taxpayer dollars in history in order to support our friends and families struggling to make ends meet. Given the gravity, Dean knows that oversight and transparency is paramount. That is why he authored legislation that was ultimately included in the CARES Act to establish a bipartisan congressional commission and a special Inspector General to provide oversight and controls. And Dean called on the SBA to make public both the recipients and amounts of small business loans approved so far to ensure resources are getting to the businesses of greatest need.
Support state and local governments
State and local governments have been on the forefront of our nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but unlike the federal government, they cannot deficit spend. That means that in the midst of an economic downturn they are at risk of default if the federal government does not act to help them recover lost revenue resulting from the pandemic. That would lead to cuts in essential services, increased state and local taxes and more – which is why Dean supports additional aid in future relief packages.
Care for those who are taking care of us
Healthcare workers, first responders and others on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic are getting up and going to work every day despite the threats to their health and the health and well-being of their families. They deserve the protective equipment, supplies and testing capabilities to ensure they can care for us as safely as possible, and protections if they become ill as a result of their work.
Ensure a safe, fair and accessible election on November 3rd
No matter what, the election must take place on November 3rd – but we should never have to choose between our health and our vote. Dean is working to do everything he can to ensure our elections are safe, secure, accessible, and fair. That includes authoring the Voter NOTICE Act, which would fund a national public awareness campaign to alert voters to any election changes resulting from COVID-19, and working to expand the option of mail-in balloting to more Americans.
Encourage bipartisanship
When he first came to Congress Dean joined the Problem Solvers Caucus – 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans who share a belief that when people set aside their political differences and come together in good faith, anything is possible. It’s how in the middle of the longest government shutdown in American history the Problem Solvers put together the framework that would reopen the government, and introduced a plan to ensure disastrous shutdowns won’t happen again. During the pandemic the Problem Solvers have again introduced a bipartisan framework to encourage both parties to come together and negotiate relief for millions of Americans.