As the legislature considers badly-needed coronavirus relief funding, North Carolina legislative leaders are releasing their COVID-19 relief platform focused on help for small businesses, unemployed workers, and students and teachers. 

“North Carolinians expect us to act swiftly and work together to provide this much-needed relief,” said Senate Leader Dan Blue. “Assistance to our small businesses, the unemployed, and our public schools are critical to a strong economic recovery and will put North Carolina on the right path as we continue to battle COVID-19.” 

“The effects and challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic have been vast and felt widely across North Carolina. It’s no secret — our state is hurting,” said House Democratic Leader Robert Reives. “It’s on all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work together to pass additional relief that will support our small businesses, the lifeblood of our communities, support those who have fallen out of work through no fault of their own, and do everything we can to help our students and teachers safely return to the classroom and recover from this tough year of virtual learning.”

North Carolina Legislative Democrats have three core priorities:

• Keep Small Businesses In Business: Small businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic. It’s critical to provide relief to small businesses, especially in our rural communities, to ensure they are able to keep their doors open, and stimulate our local economies.
• Help Unemployed North Carolinians: Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians remain out of work through no fault of their own, and are stuck with the one of the stingiest unemployment programs in the country. Additional relief funding should be used to enhance unemployment benefits and extend pandemic unemployment programs to support unemployed workers as they look to get back to work. 
• Help Students & Educators Recover: Virtual learning has taken a toll on our students, educators, and parents. Helping our public schools recover is a top priority. That includes returning to in-person education with full safety measures as quickly as possible and ensuring teachers are vaccinated as quickly as supplies are available. As we look to the next school year, we must also work to rebuild and reconnect by addressing the individual social, emotional, and educational needs of students and teachers after a year of virtual instruction.

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