Now….. finally, it is beginning to dawn on our GOP lawmakers that having 20 million uninsured Americans without healthcare and 33% of all employees working without paid sick leave, that these large numbers reflect a serious problem for our nation. It only took a pandemic to jolt the Congress into action to deal with these deficiencies.
As we all recognize, the Republicans in Congress did everything they could to stop the Affordable Care Act (AFA) from passing. And Trump has consistently been chipping away at its offerings and viability in various states since he took office. Now in light of of this deadly virus. the Republican efforts to thwart the AFA appears increasingly shortsighted and ill-advised.
And the irony is that the virus makes no distinction between Dems and Republicans. Those in the Resistance who shouted from the rooftops that universal healthcare would benefit all Americans will be as vulnerable to the virus as the GOP who rejected the idea. We are all in this boat together.
So now Congress is desperately scrambling to come up with measures to slow down the spread of Covid 19. And one of the ideas the Dems are proposing is to provide funds to employers to pay for the sick leave for workers who currently do not receive that benefit. If passed, this offering would theoretically allow sick workers to choose to stay home because they would still receive their pay.
And so at the onset of this pandemic in the U.S, one can sense that there may a significant shift in how people look at issues like universal health care and paid sick leave. If Americans start to realize – that as a nation, we are only as safe as our fellow Americans are healthy, they may recognize the benefits of universal healthcare and paid sick leave.
The Congress will sense this as well. In the Senate, 25% of the Senators are over 70. These elderly Senators are more vulnerable to the contagion, shouldn’t fly on planes or gather in large groups. The entire Congress as a result are discussing the possibility of calling a Congressional recess for a couple of weeks.
Before they make their escape, let’s let our members of Congress know that we demand that Congress should pass funds to cover sick leave for American workers. And they should, in addition, look at ways to fund medical care for those Americans who are uninsured or require costs for the patients who are being treated be kept at a bare bones minimum. Costly, yes. Might it bring the pandemic under control? It certainly won’t hurt.
Here is a Washington Post article discussing the current measures the Congress is considering.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/09/trump-coronavirus-paid-sick-leave/