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LISTEN: Rep. Waters' CA-43 Telephone Town Hall on 3/19/2020

March 23, 2020

LOS ANGELES – More than 19,000 concerned citizens joined and live streamed a 43rd Congressional District telephone town hall discussing the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic that was hosted by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday, March 19.

The telephone town hall included a legislative overview from Congresswoman Waters about the actions Congress has taken to put families first, as well as presentations by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County Metro, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, LA Regional Food Bank, Watts Health Care, South Bay Family Health Clinic, UMMA Community Clinic, and representatives from all school districts in the 43rd District: the Inglewood, Los Angeles, Torrance, Centinela Valley, Lawndale, Hawthorne, Lennox, and Wiseburn school districts.

"I am so pleased by the overwhelming number of my constituents who were able to join us for an important community-wide telephone town hall meeting discussing the coronavirus pandemic," said Congresswoman Maxine Waters. "As our nation grapples with the unprecedented health and economic challenges presented by this pandemic, it is imperative that our community is well-informed about the efforts that the federal, state, and local government is taking on their behalf. This call is the first of many that my office will host in order to ensure that my constituents have direct access to the information and resources they need to support themselves and their families during this highly unusual and chaotic time."

During the town hall, Congresswoman Waters unveiled her Committee's economic stimulus proposal, which is the most comprehensive and progressive plan in Congress to protect families and the economy from the impacts of the coronavirus. Her plan, which is strongly being considered as a part of the third package that the House will vote upon in the coming week, includes bold and progressives proposals that would provide $2000 per month for every adult and $1000 per month for every child; ban evictions, foreclosures, and repossessions nationwide; suspend all consumer credit payments for car notes, student loans, and credit cards; provide $5 billion for emergency homeless assistance; provide $1 billion for emergency medical supplies; and provide $300 million for senior assistance coordinators.

Following the presentations from Congresswoman Waters and local experts, 43rd District residents asked questions about a number of topics related to the coronavirus pandemic, including access to testing sites in Los Angeles County; food resources for seniors and children; resources for healthcare workers, firefighters, and others who are on the front lines of the crisis; and steps they can take to protect their families from contracting and spreading the coronavirus.

In addition to providing the locations, phone numbers, and websites for LA County-specific resources, Congresswoman Waters and the experts on the call repeatedly reinforced the importance of hand washing, social distancing, and other preventive measures that have been strongly recommended by the Los Angeles County Health Department and Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Click the image below to listen to the audio of the telephone town hall: