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Emily Pickren
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Statement attributed to Luis Guardia, president, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2020 — The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) commends the Senate today for passing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201. The bill, which passed with strong bipartisan support, is an important step toward ensuring people are able to put food on the table and stay safe during the COVID-19 emergency. A version of the bill passed the House last week (see FRAC’s statement for details) that, in addition to promoting food security for low-income and vulnerable people, provides paid leave to some workers, provides additional funding for unemployment insurance, and establishes free testing for COVID-19.

For the 37 million people living in households struggling against hunger, and the untold more living on the edge of poverty that are hardest hit by this crisis, COVID-19 presents unique challenges. In this time of grave uncertainty, Congress has done the right thing by passing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This multibillion dollar coronavirus response is a vital down payment for addressing this public health and economic crisis.

Now, FRAC and its partners call on Congress and the administration to immediately passing a comprehensive stimulus package that will both stabilize the economy and provide direct aid to individuals and families.

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For 50 years, the Food Research & Action Center has been the leading national nonprofit organization working to eradicate poverty-related hunger and undernutrition in the United States. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and make sure to visit our COVID-19 Updates page.