CMU School of Drama


Thursday, October 15, 2020

RESTART Act Update From Capitol Hill

LiveDesignOnline: The Senate Leadership has announced that Monday October 19, when the Senate reconvenes, the first action item will be a vote on a new relief bill to assist those most devastated Americans.

Specifically mentioned was a second round of PPP for those in need.

This will help a lot of small business, including those in Live Events.

4 comments:

Josh Blackwood said...

I have been following these issues since this pandemic started. I will freely admit to being a political junky. I have a Bachelors in Political Science (in addition to my Bachelors in theatre) and take a lot of interest in these negotiations and discussions. One thing that is important, and I can not stress this enough, is that Congress hears from the people in live entertainment more than they hear from the CEO’s and the rich. They need to hear from those of us who have been out of work since this pandemic started and if they continue to ignore our voices, then we need to vote them out of office in November. It’s not just the Presidency, but also control of the House and the Senate. Every two years, all 435 House seats are up for (re)election and 33 Senate seats. This time around, there are more Republican Senate seats up than Democrat. Both parties have their strategies as to why they are waiting to pass a bill or trying to get one passed before election day. They need to hear from us, all of us and we need to make them afraid, very afraid of our industry when they try to do us wrong.

Ariel Bernhard said...

There is a chance that this Monday could provide the start to seeing some actual relief legislation for the theatre and live entertainment industry. It is hard to hold onto hope after hearing this so many times, but I do hope some legislation passes to support everyone who is struggling right now. People were struggling before the pandemic, and now that number has grown exponentially. Pushing to open and the hope of “herd immunity” is irresponsible and will result in so many unnecessary deaths. I know it is not always the majority opinion or the best for success, but I would rather the economy take a hit versus more lives being lost or people stuck with long term complications from covid for the rest of their lives. The article mentions The House being a challenge, but I do not trust the Senate and especially The Executive Branch to pass much of anything unless it is for direct political gain.
-Ariel Bernhard

Kanvi Shah said...

This article reads as another shot at a helpful relief package sometime soon, or at least, hopefully that's what will happen. Even though every week, it seems I read one article about someone writing and proposing some legislation, and someone else saying no!, I hold out hope for everyone who desperately needs aid in this disastrous time. Being in college, focusing on classes and our friends here, it's so easy to live in your bubble of "everything is fine right now" but the little bits of news we read show us, the second wave is coming. We have a lot of work to do as a society, and I hope Congress does their part in making sure the economic downfall of the country impacts people's daily lives a little as possible. I will hope for some cohesiveness in the House and Senate, if not for people's health then perhaps in order for reelection, as mentioned in the article.

Shahzad Khan said...

Its amazing that this second package took so long, with the Senate pausing relief efforts to confirm a Supreme Court Nominee during a global pandemic. I think that this bill is obviously geared towards helping business re open safely, but this is something that should have been continuous from the very beginning of the campaign, and the efforts to strategically and ultimately defeat the virus should not have been a partisan issue. I think the behavior coming out of the White House, and at this point the GOP Senate, as absolutely awful and is frankly a slap in the face to everyone who actually dealt with the virus and its effects in their lives. It's irresponsible, and it shows a lack of care for American lives. So I think that although this is a step in the right direction, the fact of the matter still remains the same- this took far too long and had the Senate acted quicker- it might have prevented many business' from closing and many people from potentially getting infected.