August 14, 2021
Dear Friends,
Each day seems to bring grim new reminders that this COVID pandemic is far from over. Despite the incredible strides we have made these past few months, cases are again on the rise and the near future can seem more uncertain than ever.
Yet during this time of uncertainty, many of our essential workers continue, as many of you have from the start of this pandemic, to do the vital but too often thankless work that has kept our communities going. That work, your work, has shone through as a beacon for us all.
As my team and I prepared for the busy weeks of this August District Work Period, I knew my first order of business had to be visiting as many of these incredible workers as I could, to personally say thank you. We’re calling it: “Heroes Week.”
Here are just a few of the places I visited this week to say thank you:
- I visited the Town of Colonie Department of Public Works to thank the workers diligently handling the town’s waste management and disposal, road maintenance and ensuring clean water for the more than 80,000 residents who call Colonie home.
- I stopped by the Schenectady County Glendale Nursing Home to thank the caretakers who have protected and supported our loved ones as they would their own family. I was impressed that their residents remained completely COVID-free during the first 8 months of this crisis, and currently, more than 95 percent of those living in the home are fully vaccinated.
- I finished the week in East Greenbush to recognize and thank the town employees, officers at the East Greenbush Police Department and the Department of Public Works staff for maintaining vital services to the region.
The reality of these visits, and this moment for America, is that I can never say thank you enough, to enough of you or in enough places. Throughout this dark moment for our nation, our essential workers have been there, shouldering this awesome burden for us all. If that’s you, and I didn’t get to thank you in person this week, please let me do that now. For the dangers you have faced, the care you have taken, and for all the hours you have put in to serve others, thank you. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you.
Our nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals, janitors, teachers, postal workers and letter carriers, grocery store workers and first responders have each risked health and safety for the good of our communities and nation. We are forever indebted to them—to you—for the strength, dedication and bravery shown in the face of this crisis.
And let me be clear: heroes deserve more than praise. Since the start of this pandemic, I have pushed hard in Congress to deliver the support and resources our frontline workers and local services have needed to sustain us through this challenging time.
I was proud to secure and strengthen that lifeline earlier this year with the American Rescue Plan that, even now, is providing direct support to millions of families and small businesses, investments to safely reopen our schools, resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers and much more. And earlier this year I reintroduced my bipartisan Mental Health Research Act to take urgent and increasingly overdue action to study the effects of this COVID-19 pandemic on our communities, with a particular focus on our medical professionals and essential workers.
Amidst the pain and struggle of this last year and a half, our essential workers have been there for us. Let’s be there for them, now and always.
Thank you for reading, and stay safe.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
Throughout this pandemic, my office and I have worked to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind here is some information from the SBA that may be of interest to you:
- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced this week a plan to open supplemental grants to all eligible Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) applicants seeking economic aid for live entertainment small businesses, nonprofits, and venues.
- New applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, August 20, 2021.
- While the application portal will close to new applicants, the SBA will continue delivering economic aid to help venues recover by providing critical relief through the supplemental awards program. Later this month the SBA will open the program for supplemental SVOGs for 50% of the original award amount, capped at a total of $10 million (initial and supplemental combined).
- So far the SVOG program has awarded $8.4 billion in grants to more than 10,800 businesses to assist in getting the nation’s cultural institutions.
- To help ensure no eligible venue is left behind, the SBA is also currently accepting, by invitation, applications for reconsideration of award amounts and appeals.
- SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET to provide technical assistance with the SVOG application portal and can be reached at 1-800-659-2955 or, for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, at 1-800-877-8339.
- For additional information on SBA’s Economic Relief programs, visit COVID-19 relief options (sba.gov).