WASHINGTON, DC – After the number of U.S. unemployment claims surpassed 40 million people and the Trump White House announced that the Council of Economic Advisers will not release an updated round of annual economic projections this summer for the first time since the 1970s, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) issued the following statement:

“Instead of trying to conceal bad data or avoid negative forecasts, the Trump Administration needs to be honest and take corrective action.  The horrific health and economic damage we’ve seen will metastasize if not properly treated. 

“President Trump’s disastrous misdiagnosis of COVID-19 as a short-term re-election problem and subsequent suppression of unfavorable data could spell years of poor public health and economic loss unless we learn the right lessons and change course. 

“Congress should quickly craft and pass another emergency relief bill that targets needed assistance to families, Main Street, and communities that are facing catastrophic losses.  This includes additional help for unemployed Americans, as well as bonus pay for frontline workers, direct payments to families and seniors across the country, additional help for impacted businesses and state and local governments, and more investments in public health, housing, and other critical infrastructure.

“This crisis demands a proactive national strategy that includes a strong federal response.  Congress must open the fiscal throttle to help stabilize and improve the situation until the rest of the economy can safely return to capacity and recover.”