it is a pleasure to be with Senator Schumer to advance the Schumer-Wyden legislative proposal today, and I am very pleased that we are joined by Senator Bennet, a particularly valuable member of the Senate Finance Committee, who has worked on these issues for many, many years. As Senator Schumer outlined, we are talking about a fresh approach as we look to extending supercharged unemployment benefits for as long as our economy suffers under the COVID-19 pandemic. As the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee that produced the $600 extra benefit each week until July 31 and the breakthrough to cover for the first time gig workers and the self-employed and part-timers and others, I am going to take a few minutes to explain why this next step to create a dependable safety net in America is a no-brainer. We know that tens of millions of Americans are out of work due to COVID-19. The pandemic is, in fact, getting worse. Dr. Tony Fauci yesterday talked about the prospect of having 100,000 new confirmed cases per day nationwide. We don't even want to imagine what the unemployment situation is going to look like with 100,000 new coronavirus cases every day. You cannot have a healthy economy in a country suffering from mass death.…
On the recordJuly 1, 2020
Share
More from Ron Wyden
Aug 7, 2026
I’m heading home this weekend to meet with Oregonians fearing in real time for their lives and livelihoods because of wildfires threatening communities and spreading smoke statewide.
Aug 3, 2026
This whole mess came out in a court hearing last week where, not only did the judge criticize the government’s attorneys, the government itself acknowledged its numerous errors and mistakes before eventually withdrawing the subpoenas.
Aug 3, 2026
I am also deeply concerned about Mr. Clayton’s role in the abusive subpoenas issued to New York Times journalists.
Aug 11, 2026
My goal throughout all these hearings is to advance a fresh plan to reimagine the American health care system that makes good on the promise that health care is a basic human right.





