WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement regarding the signed Presidential Memorandum Authorizing the Other Needs Assistance Program for Major Disaster Declarations Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019:

“Today’s Presidential Memorandum reflects President Trump’s determination to identify and deploy all the authorities available to him to support Americans out of work as a result of the pandemic. The Memorandum follows the refusal of Democratic leadership to allow even a short-term extension of federal unemployment benefits while the parties negotiated a longer-term plan. The Department of Labor will now work closely with the States and the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to assist in providing the relief made available by the Memorandum.”