Daily Updates:
For daily updates on the number positive COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 related deaths in El Paso, please visit epstrong.org. For updates on the number of confirmed and pending cases in Texas, please visit the DSHS website. This is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will provide updated information and guidance as it becomes available.
What Congress is Doing
Every day, Congresswoman Escobar sees the need for further action to combat the coronavirus crisis. The number of confirmed cases, deaths, unemployment claims, and lost jobs are devastating.
More emergency resources are desperately needed now to sustain the life and death fight to protect the lives and livelihoods of the El Pasoans, that is why Congresswoman Escobar and her colleagues in Congress are working to pass an interim emergency legislation and a CARES 2 Act that will extend and expand the bipartisan CARES Act.
These efforts will build on previously passed bipartisan legislation to protect El Paso families and workers, address the spread of coronavirus in a smart, strategic way, provide the resources and authorities our federal agencies need to track, combat, and mitigate the virus, treat Americans with the disease, and develop a vaccine and additional treatments.
On March 4, 2020, Congresswoman Escobar and her colleagues in Congress took a first step by passing an $8.3 billion emergency response supplemental package, which included funding for vaccine development, support for state and local governments, and assistance for affected small businesses. This legislation was followed up by H.R. 6201, the bipartisan Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which the President also signed into law, which guaranteed free coronavirus testing, established paid leave, enhanced Unemployment Insurance, expanded food security initiatives, and increased federal Medicaid funding.
Building on top of the swift action that House Democrats took to move these two critical pieces of coronavirus response legislation into law, on March 27, 2020, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar voted for the third coronavirus response bill, the bipartisan H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act, which was signed into law by President Trump, secures critical provisions for El Paso workers and their families and invests $2 trillion to help our public health systems, state and local governments, and small businesses in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
On April 10, 2020, Congresswoman Escobar announced that El Paso health centers, educational institutions, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, and the City of El Paso received more than of $95 million in initial federal grant funding provided by the CARES Act to respond to and meet the evolving health and economic needs created by the coronavirus pandemic. A summary of the CARES Act is available here, and an overview of the major components Congresswoman Escobar fought to include for El Paso’s hard-working families is available here.
In the sections below, you will find more information about how these three sweeping pieces of legislation that have been signed into law support you and your family.
FAQs
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar has heard from many El Pasoans who are concerned about the coronavirus and wants to answer some of your frequently asked questions. Click here to read her answers.
Coronavirus Resource Guide
For information and resources available to you and your family, click here to read Congresswoman Escobar's guide of federal, state, and local resources.
You will find critical information on:
- Hotlines and Testing
- El Paso's "Stay Home, Work Safe" Order and Texas Executive Orders and Public Health Disaster Declaration
- Economic Impact Payments
- Unemployment Insurance and Emergency Paid Leave
- Small Businesses
- Students and Educators
- Coronavirus Scams and Fraud
- Housing
- Food Assistance
- Utility Assistance and Bills
- Mental Health Resource
- Travel
- Información en Español
- And more
