The stakes could not be higher. Food insecurity is rising. Unemployment relief is waning. The strands of a virus-related safety net — holds on utility cutoff, foreclosure and evictions — are fraying.
Still, Congress has failed to act on a federal financial rescue.
For the first time, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill indicated last week support for a middle-of-the-road plan.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell connected by phone with each side signaling a willingness to make concessions.
And citizens likely would storm the Capitol to say so if they could afford the bus fare to get there.
Pennsylvania has sounded an alarm, and Pennsylvania is far from alone. Unstable economies are perched on the apex of possible ruin or recovery. Dozens of municipalities in Pennsylvania hover on the brink of insolvency.
Federal intransigence is intolerable. This long-awaited sign of movement is more than welcome.
Congress must demonstrate that it understands the meaning of “compromise.” It is not a dirty word. In fact, it is the only way to take care of business. Short of an effective and widely distributed vaccine for COVID-19, there is no more pressing business at hand.
Yes, it will wrangle over important details: Another round of stimulus checks? Grants to municipal and state governments? An extension or enhancement to unemployment payments? More help for nonprofits and businesses? What amounts, for whom, for how long? There is no shame in wrangling. There is shame only in the odiferous smell of partisan ideology.
Federal leaders from both parties must act now — before year’s end — to settle on a plan with hope of passage. Partisan politics — gauging what will sell at home with an individual’s constituency — must be set aside in the interests of the greater good.
And as for those constituencies, it is time to let your voices be heard. Contact your federal representative and senator. Underscore support for compromise. Promise no repercussions at the ballot box for taking action. Instead, make a promise of retribution if no middle ground is sought and found.
— Tribune News Service
