BIRMINGHAM—On Friday, May 22 in a livestreamed video address, Senator Doug Jones (D-Ala.) called for action on additional relief for Americans impacted by COVID-19 and highlighted his efforts to push for legislation to incentivize health care manufacturing in Alabama and to help employers continue to pay workers. He also urged Alabamians to continue to social distance and stay home whenever possible, to help ensure a safe transition to re-open the economy.
https://www.facebook.com/senatordougjones/videos/244246423335954/?t=22
“There is an urgency [for more relief]. I’ve got to tell you, folks, that I have done at least one tele-townhall every week since we’ve been out and the stories I hear from folks are heart-breaking. They’re scared, they’re worried, there’s a lot of anxiety out there right now still with this virus,” Senator Jones said. “[The House-passed bill is] not a perfect bill, but it’s something we ought to be sitting down and talking about, finding common ground [about] what we can do, and I believe that we can do that.”
Senator Jones also called for additional relief for Alabama farmers, and criticized guidance released this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that set arbitrary rules for relief that will hurt farmers and ranchers.
On the Senator Jones said, “The USDA program this week, the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, will help farmers and ranchers but it is far short of what is needed. These farmers are at risk of losing their farms and never coming back – generations of farmers… I’m going to be sharing my concerns [with USDA] and hopefully getting some corrections to those inequities.”
Senator Jones took questions from Facebook Live viewers and frequently asked questions he has received in his weekly tele-townhalls with Alabama constituents.
Media Release/Office of Alabama Senator Doug Jones
