Blumenthal Urges Congress to Approve Heroes Fund to Provide Essential Workers With a Pay Raise

(HARTFORD, CT) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today urged Congress to support the “Heroes Fund”, proposed by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), in the next COVID-19 relief package. The Heroes Fund would provide the equivalent of a raise of an additional $13 per hour from the start of the public health emergency until December 31, 2020. The new federal fund would partner with entities designated as an “eligible employer” – states, localities, tribes, and certain private sector employers – to issue funds for premium payments to eligible workers, such as police officers, firefighters, EMTs, doctors, nurses, truck drivers, and grocery store employees.

“In recognition of the extraordinary efforts of our front line workers, I am supporting the Heroes Fund to provide a pay raise, funded by the federal government, to reward, retain, and recruit essential employees. Our police, fire, medical professionals, postal workers, grocery store workers, and many others are the heroes of this pandemic and they deserve to be rewarded for their efforts. This $13 an hour pay raise will make a significant difference in the lives of these workers, and I urge my fellow members of Congress to support this proposal,” said Blumenthal.

More information on the proposal can be found here.

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