Congressman Kim Presses Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to Show Urgency to Help Working Families Recover from Coronavirus Crisis

Press Release

Today, during a hearing of the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) pressed U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to acknowledge the inequality in the economic recovery from the ongoing coronavirus crisis, and commit to working with Congress to find solutions that can help working families.

Congressman Kim began his first set of questions, which can be found by clicking here, by asking Secretary Mnuchin a question from a restaurant owner in New Jersey: "what does success mean to you when it comes to this economic recovery?" Congressman Kim followed up by asking Secretary Mnuchin if he agreed with comments by Trump Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow that we are headed towards a "V shaped recovery", to which Secretary Mnuchin admitted that there are, "many industries and many small businesses who have been destroyed by this."

Congressman Kim further pressed the Secretary on the inequity of the recovery as many low-income workers continue to struggle to get back to work. He continued, "what concerns me is that if we don't seriously address it, that we can see this pandemic actually exacerbate this inequality in our nation. We had inequality well before this pandemic, I think you can agree with that. But, what I worry about is that the trajectory we're on is something that could make America more unequal than it was before the pandemic."

During Congressman Kim's second line of questions, which can be found by clicking here, he pressed Secretary Mnuchin on the issues of housing and health care. Congressman Kim asked if the estimated $110 per person proposed by Senate Republicans would be enough to help renters avoid eviction, and asked the Secretary if it is acceptable that millions have lost health care coverage during the pandemic.

During a hearing in July, Congressman Kim pressed Secretary Mnuchin for a commitment to work with Congress to ensure New Jersey and New Jersey's municipalities have the help they need to handle the financial impact of the Coronavirus crisis.

Source