REPRESENTING BUSINESS ISSUES
Merkley, Colleagues Push To Protect Americans From Losing Access To Vital Utilities During Pandemic Millions of Americans are one missed payment away from losing power, heat, water, or internet
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 | Washington, D.C. O regon’s Senator Jeff Merkley teamed up with U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) today to ask Senate leadership to include safeguards in the upcoming coronavirus relief package to protect the American people from losing access to critical utilities— including power, heat, water and internet services—during the pandemic. The lawmakers’ letter comes after extreme cold in Texas and across America killed dozens of Americans and left millions more without heat and water. A recent working paper from Duke University’s Nicholas Institute found that had federal policies that ended utilities shutoffs been in place from March through November 2020, coronavirus infections could have been reduced by 8.7% and deaths could have been reduced by 14.8%, because Americans could have washed their hands more easily and avoided congregating for heat and power. “Newly unemployed Americans are facing disconnection because of loss of income, and many Americans are having to choose between putting food on the table or keeping their heat and water. We know that too often deferred utility payments is the start of a debt spiral that results in them at risk of losing their housing. Utility insecurity is disproportionately felt by low-wealth Americans, rural and tribal communities, and people of color. These are the communities that need congressional protections the most,” the senators wrote. “No utility wants to disconnect their customers and we applaud the many utilities that have taken voluntary steps to prevent disconnections during this crisis. Many states also issued orders to keep utility services connected, but most of these orders have now expired even as the
COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage,” the lawmakers continued. “…The COVID-19 outbreak, as well as the tragedy last week, have highlighted the systemic problems of poverty and utility insecurity in the United States and its disparate impact on low-wealth communities and communities of color. Now is the time for our country to provide relief for the communities that are being most harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Throughout the pandemic, Merkley has led his colleagues in a series of efforts to protect Americans from utility shut-offs amid the pandemic, including by introducing the Emergency Water and Energy is a Human Right Act and the CONNECT At Home Act. Merkley asked congressional leaders to maintain essential services by providing resources for low-income Americans to maintain utility access in coronavirus relief legislation. “Over 100,000 Georgians have had their power shut off at the height of COVID. That is unconscionable treatment, particularly for our frontline workers struggling to stay afloat. We are calling on Congress and President Biden to finally pass this live-saving protection. People should not be penalized for the COVID pandemic,” said Chandra Farley, Just Energy Director, Partnership for Southern Equity. “Ensuring that all Americans have access to utility services during this pandemic is too important to be left to the discretion of individual utility companies. Essential workers have been on the job throughout the COVID-19 crisis making sure that households and businesses stay connected to energy, water and communications services. We need a national moratorium on utility shutoffs so that service providers hold up their end of the bargain,” said Chris Shelton, Communications Workers of America President. “The Texas energy catastrophe shone a light on how losing utilities can be a matter of life and death. Unfortunately,
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The Business Review | March 2021
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