That the hospitals are prepared. Pillar of our Recovery Plan is testing capacity. Capacity. Between the state health lab and andeast 15 private labs participating health care institutions, approximately 50,000 tests could be performed each week. 125e are now more than Sample Collection sites located throughout the state, and mobile outreach is now available to reach people who may not be able to get to a testing site. Dhs has expanded its testing criteria so more people can be tested, and rapid pointofcare testing devices have been deployed throughout the Sample Collection sites located throughout the state. Also shifted to an aggressive box in approach with testing. This strategy will allow positive patients to be identified and isolated as soon as possible to prevent the virus from spreading further in the community. In addition, we are now utilizing community sampling to specific counties. T last week, the department of Economic Development partnered launched thend google marketplace to connect our Health Care Providers with manufacturers and some buyers that produce and suppliers that produce ppe. Missouri has received National Recognition on the use of this new tool, which will be a huge asset moving forward. Last week, Vice President pence recognized missouris use of the google marketplace during the white house covid19 briefing. , theust this morning leader of the coronavirus supply Chain Stabilization Task force called to learn more about missouris ppe marketplace as a potential best practice for other states. Again, i want missourians to feel safe and confident, to reengage in the economy and social activity. We are exactly where we need to be with our four pillars to reopen, and i am thankful for my administration, our many partners and stakeholders across the state, and all missourians for helping us to get to this point. With that said, we have a few other directors that are here today to talk more about their departments as we move forward to reopen missouri. There will be lots of questions and concerns regarding unemployment, so first i will turn it over to director hugh for an update on the department of labor. Director hugh enke, governor. From march 15 through the weekend ending april 18, we have served missourians by processing over 400,000 initial claims for Unemployment Benefits. A also made close to half billion dollars in payments to regular claimants. Last week, missouri was one of the first states in the nation to process Pandemic Unemployment Program claims. Not only did we take the claims in, but we already processed multiple claimants. This was accomplished while setting up remote work for over two thirds of our agency, training of the 100 additional state staff from our department of labor as well as other state agencies to support the employment program, as well as contracting and training thirdparty vendors staff and preparing to hire 50 to 100 more temporary staff for additional support. Just to provide you with some context, normally at this time of year, we process about 2300 to 3000 unemployment initial claims a week. In the last five weeks, we have had two historically high weeks where we have processed well over 100,000 initial unemployment claims. We continue to prioritize the phone lines for individuals who have difficulties accessing our online resources. Our efforts to be responsive to the thousands of calls we are receiving will continue to direct callers to specific messaging for Program Information and updates. If you are calling about an issue on your specific claim, we continue to ask for your patience and understanding as we do our best to get to as many colors as possible. If you are on hold and offered the callback function, the system will call you back when it is your turn. Please select that option if you want to be called back. You do not have to remain on hold. For members of the public who have access to the internet, please continue to do these things. First, log into for theact. Mo. Labor. Gov status of your claims and weekly payments. If your status is pending and no eligibility issues come up during that timeframe, the payment will begin processing after the 10day protest period. The second is resetting your own password by answering the security questions online that registeredd when you for your account. Please try that first before calling. With each of the calls we are taking, we have codes that our agents indicate what the call was about or what was resolved during the call. From those codes, we know those are the top two questions that were asked that can be dealt with online. In addition, Child Support , existing nonfraud overpayments, and taxes for those selected to have taxes with help reduces both the 600 payment as well as any weekly unemployment claims. Claimants are also reminded to take extreme care to provide Accurate Information when you are entering it online. Typos, wrong dates, incorrect answers to questions, and other data entry errors during the initial claims process will cause delays for eligible claimants. Again, more than 90 of missouris unemployment claims have been filed online, and without any assistance from the department. Its all on our youinteract. Abor. Mo. Gov website, and we continue to assist claimants with their questions. Just a few clarifications for the unappointed programs, anyone who is selfemployed and wishes to file for pandemic unemployment assistance, pua, must first file for regular Unemployment Benefits and be determined ineligible. The step is necessary because pua is a brandnew program that the existing system was not designed to address. But once a selfemployed claimants information is in the system, they can file immediately for a pua, if they fall into one of the 11 eligibility requirements. Some examples of those 11 categories include being sick with covid19, caring for someone in your household who is sick with covid19, and being the primary caregiver for schoolage children when schools are having students stayathome. The full list of 11 categories can be found on la bor. Mo. Gov coronavirus under faq number eight. In addition, one of these categories must still exist at the time of your weekly request in order to receive payment for that week. While individuals can provide Self Certification of the usdl havethe directed states to notify, remind, and enforce the policies of misrepresentation for the purposes of obtaining any kind of unemployment and if it is considered fraud. It will be subject to prosecution, penalties, and repayment. U. S. Law has made it clear that general fear of covid19 will not support continuation of Unemployment Benefits under both the regular Unemployment Insurance program and the pua program. Employer, if an provides the employee suitable work to return and the employee chooses not to return to work, then Unemployment Benefits will cease. ,f an individual files for pua it no longer falls under one of the 11 Eligibility Criteria under the cares act, than the individual cannot file for weekly benefits under pua. In terms of guidance about Workplace Safety, the show me strong Recovery Plan page has s health orderhh with guidelines for physical distancing, in addition to information we have on our labor webpage and in the faqs. In addition, local stayathome orders have included criteria for essential businesses and their operations, and those will still guide local businesses in the recall of employees to work. The department of labor is also working on a portal for employers to submit information on employees who refuse to return to work. We will be announcing that shortly in terms of when the portal will be live and instructions on how employers can use them. Finally, the federal pandemic emergency Unemployment Compensation program, puc, is scheduled peuc is scheduled to be operational tomorrow morning, thursday, april 30. It provides additional benefits for individuals who have exhausted their own employment claims. If they filed a weekly request for payment, they should do so. Individuals who exhausted their requests in the past year will be notified with instructions on how to log back into your youint eract and to file under peuc. That communication will be dependent on what the individual selected when they registered their account. However, there is no need for individuals to wait to receive that communication. They can log into you interact tomorrow morning and look into the correspondence folder for instructions on how to file thank you very much. On how to file. Thank you very much. Host gov. Parson anna, thank you for what you and your team are doing. This is this has not happened before, and i am not making excuses for anyone, but i talked to governors on a weekly basis. Most all of the unemployment systems went down in the first few days of what took place, and i am so proud for our directory and what that team over there has been able to dupe to provide those services. To do to provide those services. We know people have beenwe knowd for long periods of time, but we are working on making it better. Again, i want to thank the director and her team for what they have been doing. Also a lot of questions coming up about the state parks. One of the things we want people to do is get out and active, and no better places to do it than our state parks in missouri. The director is here with us to give us an update on the state parks in the future. Good afternoon. While the vast majority of missouris state parks and Historic Sites have remained the for day use throughout entire crisis, the department of Natural Resources implemented a number of measures designed to protect our visitors and team members. Those included canceling our tours and programs, closing Visitors Centers and playgrounds, and suspending camping and overnight lodging. Today, however, i am here to ed approachphas to resuming normal operations at Missouri State parks. This approach will ensure missourians can enjoy missouris resources by reducing overcrowding. This approach will allow our state parks team the time to restore Necessary Services and prepare measures designed to allow proper physical distancing. Between may 4 and may 15, lodging, dining, marinas, and Retail Stores operated by our concessionaires will reopen. Services and locations will continue to be limited, so we encourage you to visit our website for information on each individual parks site. On may 11, castlewood state park, Elephant Rock state park, and others will reopen for day use only. Parking will be strictly limited, and some trails may be closed to ensure proper social distancing is maintained. On may 18, the offroad vehicle riding area at saint joes state park will reopen with a limited number of permits available. Permits must be purchased online and in advance. Park campgrounds and are more primitive parkrun lodging will continue to be suspended through may 18. At that time, we will evaluate when to reopen those facilities. Centers, visitors tours, programs, enclosed shelters, playgrounds, pools, and beaches remain closed as we monitor the stages taken to resume operations. We ask for patience as we recreational opportunities with maintaining a safe environment. Toyou head to a park, injury i encourage you to check mo statementparks. Com for the latest. We will continue to monitor closely to prevent overcrowding. If a park is nearing capacity, gaetz may close temporarily. If you are planning to visit a state park, we encourage you to choose a park list your home. Close to your home. And i cannot express enough to follow the guidance provided by governor parsons. Keep six feet between you and others. Stay close at home. Travel only with those in your household. Wash your hands often. Come prepared, carrying hand sanitizers, wipes, and water. Wash your hands often. Share the trail and warn others of your presence as you pass. Cover your mouth and nose with your elbow when you cough or sneeze. Pack out what you brought in. Be kind and considerate of others. Most importantly, stay home if you are sick. While safety and Outdoor Recreation are important to us, the safety of our guests and team members remain a top priority. Thank you. Gov. Parson thank you, carol, for what you are doing the state parks. Our statel proud of parks. It is a great place for activities outdoors. But i will stress that we are in phase one of what we are doing, and social distancing is key. I ask you to abide by the rules when you go there. It will take self response ability to make sure you take that upon yourselves to abide by the rules so we can keep them open for everybody. There is going to be an opportunity this year for our entire stay to showcase our state a little more. I am not sure how many people will travel outside our state, so it is a great opportunity to visit sites in our state. Thank you, director, for what you do in your department. As we move into the recovery phase, we must continue to prioritize not only the physical health of missouri, but also Mental Health. Today, director stringer is here to give us an update on the department of Mental Health. Thank you, governor. First, i want to express my sincere something for the missouri families who have lost loved ones to this virus. Remain in our thoughts and prayers. Second, i want to thank the department of middle health staff at all levels and settings that have performed spectacularly during this crisis, including the dedicated men and women who work in our state psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and state operated community programs. I cannot tell you how much we appreciate your ongoing commitment to serving some of the states most vulnerable citizens. I also want to acknowledge my departments contracted Community Providers for treatment, prevention, recovery, and rehabilitation services. They are workingi also want harh substantial challenges but at the same time dealing with their own challenges in terms of staffing, lost revenue, and extraordinary expenses for things like ppe. Let me give you some examples of the work they are doing. The Community MiddleHealth Centers and substitute treatment providers serve over 130,000 people each year. When the covid crisis started, the entire Community System pivoted in a matter of days to a virtual telehealth model of care to help individuals and their families dealing with those conditions stay safe, stay well in their homes, and importantly, out of the hospital. In addition to caring for their own patients and clients, they are also providing Mental Health services for frontline workers and other parts of the health care system, helping them with Virtual Services and special phone lines. I was glad to learn that, but because we are all concerned about our Frontline Health care were workers. Serve 15,000 people in the community in a variety of settings. Because of that, our individuals have the opportunity to lead Productive Lives outside of institutions. You have heard stories state wide of direct care staff who tot their homes and families move in with the individuals they support in order to reduce the number of people in and out of their homes and to protect individuals from exposure. Many of our providers have invested in computers and tablets to connect with families during this time. And they are working hard to move people with Developmental Disabilities out of longterm hospital stays and into appropriate Community Settings in order to alleviate stress on the health care system. Governor, our provider asked me to thank you, director richardson, another one of my colleagues on the cabinet, for moving so quickly to keep the people safe during this crisis. Missourians, many people who are returning to work next week are understandably nervous about it. There is nothing wrong with that, but i can assure you that proper precautions and common sense make a huge difference in how and where the virus appears. One of our longstanding Community Providers with 70,000 until health and physical Health Patients across the state, along with 2700 staff, has not had one death due to covid19 and is unaware of even a single hospitalization. An important reason for that is the first action in every critical visit clinical visit since midmarch has been covid screening, education, and prevention. Finally, for those of you who may have trouble coping with anxiety about returning to work, i want to mention once again the federal disaster distress helpline, which was created for times like these. It is staffed with Mental Health professionals who can talk with you and, if you need more help than they can provide, connect you with services right here in missouri. The services are free and confidential. The helpline has a website easily found with a search, or 55559 im 80098 sorry, 8009855990. Thank you. Gov. Parson thank you for what you are doing, what you have done, and you will do. It is remarkable what the state employees have done during this time, to go to work every day in tough situations. But two people in Mental Health situations, the people who were willing to come to work every day to take care of people who cant take care of themselves, and understand thats a job that most people dont want to do, my hats off to those people who are doing what they have done, sacrificing for others, putting their care of those individuals before themselves and the room families in some cases. So many and their own families in some cases. So many people stepped up. As we get closer to monday, many missourians may be feeling different emotions. Some are excited. Others are nervous or unsure. No matter what you are feeling, i want to assure you that we have prepared for this and will continue to do everything we can to keep missourians safe. However, i will say this again. Covid19 is still out there. At the end of the day, it comes down to looking out for each other and taking responsibility for our own actions. For our Recovery Plan to succeed, we must all continue to be proactive while adapting to these new challenges. Use common sense. Social distance. Protect yourself and the others around you. If we can do this, we will be successful. Thank you and god bless. Also today, theres a couple other directors back here, director carson and director williams, if you have questions for them. The one thing i would ask, there are several directors here today, so before we bring them up, if you could all ask your questions toward each director, we would appreciate that. The time is yours. Anticipate, do you daily reports of new covid19 cases to increase after your order lifts . And if they do increase, will you take responsibility for that . Gov. Parson let me go back to what i have said all along. I dont think you can look at it on a daily basis. The reality is, you have a one labe day, that could be a dumping that material in again. We have talked about that many times. If we see a trend in wrestling back up, we are going to increasing backup, we are going to reevaluate. But i am confident we are on a downward spiral for the majority of the state, and even st. Louis is looking over the edge. Its remarkable what they have done. We are going to be ready for that, watching all the data like we have been for months. This deals more with unemployment. How many people of those 400,000 are still waiting right now . And for the people who can potentially return to work on monday, i know this was briefly mentioned, but who may be afraid to return to work, are they still able to collect Unemployment Benefits . Gov. Parson i will let the director answer that, but my understanding is if your boss tells you to come back to work, youve got to fulfill that higher meant if you want to go back that requirement if you want to go back to work. In terms of the numbers for individuals who have not yet been paid, we process claims every day, so there are going to be a variety of people in different categories who have not been paid yet. Typically during regular an appointment on insurance, you have a 10day protest period, and if there is nothing found to debut ineligible, your payment will be paid shortly after that. However, for regular pandemic unemployment assistance, this new program we have, there is no downtime. Claims that were processed last week and deemed eligible actually got payments last week. So, we are processing those as close as possible in terms of the timing of it, but generally it takes at least 10 days for regular employment, protest period, and again, thats because the employers pay the employment insurance, and under law we are required to give them that time as part of due process. So as far as places like restaurants opening up next week , they are maybe not doing a full capacity, but their servers and bartenders are able to come back but have limited hours, are they able to get any help through unemployment, or is unemployment kind of a moot point . Dr. Hui they can continue to file. Art of the question for the weekly benefit is how much you have earned that week. You have to have earned above, i file. In terms of complete disqualification for a weekly benefit. Continuendividuals who to have diminished hours, there will still be the ability to continue to file, and then your Weekly Earnings will have some level of act in terms of your eligibility for continued benefits. This may be for dr. Carson as well, but for employers, have you given any thought to guidance for employers on employees who may still want to be Wearing Masks many months from now, no matter what the status of the pandemic is . People who work in hospitality, for example, employers may want people to show their faces to customers. Do you have guidance on that . Dr. Hui we currently dont. I think we would follow the department of Public Health in terms of their guidance, as well as the cdc in terms of that. For issues related to Workplace Safety, the u. S. Department of labor has a number of resources out there both for businesses and employees related to Workplace Safety and guidance as well. Questions . R finger onard to put a how many people have actually started receiving benefits, but of the 400,000, do you have any ballpark percentages of how many people have actually gotten a check . Dir. Hui well over 76 of people have gotten a check, so either they are full payment, or if they are with a partial payment, under the pandemic assistance program, we are awaiting documentation from them to be able to provide them more than the 133 minimum per week under that program. , 76 of the 400 now those have received at least one payment . Dir. Hui correct, we have paid dollars, a billion both in regular Unemployment Benefits as well as federal benefits. About thea question numbers. I know the end employment claims usually come out on thursdays, but do you have any are you seeing any trend for what we can expect to see for tomorrow, or are you seeing claims going down as the state is starting to reopen . Dir. Hui again, those numbers are a week out, so they are lagging numbers, so tomorrow morning at 8 30 eastern time, 7 30 here in missouri, missouris numbers will come out with the national numbers. Again, we have had a historically high numbers, so the previous week, we were at 59,000, but the week before that, i think we were at 100,000, and the week before that was at 91,000. Clearly there are no immediate trends, and because it is a lagging indicator, we cant really see the sort of affect of any reopening for at least two weeks in terms of the weekly timescale. Any other questions for director hui . Hi, director. You said the parts would gradually reopen between may 4 and may 15, right . Park lodging, yes. Do you know when overnight camping will be reinstated . Omer thats part of our second phase of reopening. Lodging is different. It is confined spaces. Tamping is different from that, as are the more primitive cabins. That will be part of the second phase of our reopening. I cant give you a day. We will be evaluating that sorry, may 18, looking at the data and determining what that date will be. So cap he is still suspended under the first phase . Comer yes. Any other questions for director comer . Director carson . Director williams . Director, i know this has probably taken a bit of a back burner on your agenda, but as far as medical marijuana goes in the middle of the pandemic, where is that plan and rollout . I answered this yesterday in an interview. It has probably taken a millionth of my time that i have thought about this. But i have a team doing that, starting after may 4, going after their onsite inspections. I am told they will be on target to have dispensaries for medical marijuana in midsummer, which they define as late july, early august. Today there was a temporary restraining order filed by a Dispensary Organization as well as a few other people who did cultivation and other facility licenses. That lawsuit mentions you and the department. Do you have any response to that lawsuit or restraining order . I have not seen it, and i dont like to comment on things i havent seen. Thank you, though. A question for either dr. Williams or the governor. I dont know if you have heard the news in st. Louis county. You talked about the hospitalization has not decreased. The city of eureka has decided to not abide by the st. Louis county structure in terms of stayathome orders, but instead move forward on may 4 with the statewide plan. Do you have any reaction to local cities deciding to go with the state as opposed to their own county . Williams im going to toss that to the governor. Gov. Parson thats a good move, director. I want to go back to the structure of this. It falls back to the local levels. With the state order in place, i would hope that most of them, as they change orders, would line up with the state orders as much as they can when they decide to open up. People do have some sort of normal view of how they should go to businesses and everything. We hope people line up, and we think most of them are. If you are a city within a county and theyve got that order in place, youve got to follow the county rule. Thats why we have always maintained that local control, so they know best. It is no different for me as governor. Sometimes i have to look at the whole state and figure out how to make different decisions for different parts of the state, and thats what weve done. But thats a local issue. For dr. Estion is williams. Unless its a hard one, then it goes to the governor. I think this is for you. The cdc said the second wave of covid19 might be more devastating than this first one. What are you doing to prepare for this potential second or even third wave of covid19 . Dr. Williams bob redfield is a good friend. The flu next year in november, so we encourage people to get their flu shots next year. We want to make sure we have that capacity and really push out that message. Also, one could anticipate that with the reemergence based on past history of other viruses, that when the winter comes around, covid19 could possibly reemerge. Our motto has always been hope for the best, prepare for the worst, so what we are doing is on the fourime pillars the governor has talked about, and one is to have the capacity to do testing. We have a conference of state strategic testing that tests in case of outbreaks. It is targeted at providers, since we know 10 to 14 of cases are at providers. It gives capacity for surveillance and monitoring. Director carson will use that time to build up ppe. We will also be doing Predictive Analytics based on data we are getting out to see where we. Ight see areas of outbreaks the ones that come to mind right now are meatpacking plants, longterm care facilities. And then finally one of the things we look closest at his hospitalizations. We have been incredibly fortunate in missouri that we have never had to enter a crisis care type of situation. We will be using that time to store up resources and making our plans, and we feel really good about that. Thank you. Gov. Parson let me just add to what dr. William said on the question you asked and what is so important. I go back to the time frame when this started, about 50 days ago. At that point we were all trying to figure out how to deal with this virus, no matter if you were in the medical profession, the directors who are a peer today. I think the thing we are all going to be much more prepared if it does come back next fall. We will know how to handle that, how to isolate better, to target tests around the state. We will know where the hospital shortages are, plus we will know the virus has the potential to attack different areas or places then we did 50 days ago. I think will be much better prepared. I think all of us as a whole will be. In our family members will be much more aware of what it takes to fight this virus. Governor, do you have any more of a sense of what the amount of the deficit is next year . I think it was 700 million you mentioned the other day, but i have seen different numbers full could you clarify the number as far as you know . Gov. Parson if you just look at state numbers, it needs to be a 700 million. That has to be an amount that we take a look at. So i would just suggest as we move through the budget process that we move through cautiously, make sure that we are doing a balanced budget if we put one out there. Its important to keep that in mind as we move through this. As far as the revenue goes, this Second Quarter is going to be tough. To build the budget next year, we will have to keep that in mind, although im still optimistic that third and Fourth Quarter things may pick up. The real unknown between now and much aref june, how the feds going to help, how they help, and how do we prepare for that. But i think we have to prepare to make sure that we are not in a position in july the first and all of a sudden im in a situation where i have to 600 million, seven hundred Million Dollars starting july 1. We dont want to be in that situation. People should know what that scenario will look like and what to prepare for. That is one thing we are really concerned about, making sure that is this is a solid budget that comes in with the that really affect the state of missouri. Governor, people are coming to the capital tomorrow to protest, in the sense that you have done little for covid and helping. Rentsaid they would like mortgage suspension as well as expanded services for people experiencing homelessness. Do you have a, . Gov. Parson i think we have addressed these issues. Homeless, we are working with the mayors to assist on that, all the state resources available. For the people let home, the eviction portion, cities have taken steps on that. I think those are actions, some of those actions that have to be taken by the courts. We have worked with Utility Companies early on. We have announced several times here that most have agreed not to suspend anybodys utilities at this point. But you also have to remember there are sometimes things that are not under the control of the government, that you have private entities that we dont have control over but for the most part, i think we have been concerned about that the whole time. We are putting all the resources we have at a state level. The medicaid rolls are increasing of the state because people qualify for that, and we are making sure nobody loses those benefits at this point. Plus its now expanding simply because of the covid19 situation. All now we will take you to capitol hill, where nancy pelosi is giving her weekly news conference. You are watching live coverage on cspan. [indistinct conversations] Speaker Pelosi apparently running a little late this morning, while we wait, heres part of todays washington journal. Host it was a couple of weeks ago, they talk about top 10 financial stressors because of the pandemic. ,hey list the 10, starting off having enough money in Emergency Savings was 41 of the respondents. Followed by concerns over job security, income fluctuations, paying utilities, rent, mortgage, and some 25 looking at the Financial Markets and volatility. A tie at 23 for those paying down debt and Credit Card Debt and having saved enough for retirement, planning out the last two on the list, playing health care, and putting off major financial decisions. Maybe your concerns fall in that category with your financial picture at the start of the pandemic. Jay powell yesterday was talking about what he expects to see the economy. The headline showing that the economy, when it plunged at the rate of the great depression, the headline also talked about the comments made by the federal reserve, saying that it signaled on wednesday that it will keep shortterm Interest Rates near zero as long as it takes to bolster recovery, the Central Bank Says it will continue to buy treasury and mortgage bonds to spur lending. You can see these full comments on our website. Heres what he had to say yesterday when it comes to the economy. [video clip] many standard Economic Statistics have yet to catch up with the reality we are experiencing, its clear that the effects on the economy are severe. Millions of workers are losing their jobs. Next weeks jobs report is expected to show that the Unemployment Rate, which was that 50 year lows two months ago, has surged into double digits. Household spending has plummeted as people stay home, measures of Consumer Sentiment have fallen precipitously. Hotels, airlines, restaurants, department stores, other retailers have been hardhit. Manufacturing output fell in march and should drop even more rapidly this month, as many factories have temporarily closed. Willll Economic Activity likely drop at an unprecedented rate in the Second Quarter. Inflation is also being held down, reflecting weaker demand and lower energy prices. The depth and the duration of the economic downturn are uncertain, and will depend largely on how quickly the virus is brought under control. The severity will also depend on the policy actions taken at all levels of government to cushion the blow and support the recovery when the Public Health crisis passes. Response is guided by the mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the american people, along with our responsibilities to promote the stability of the financial system. We are committed to using our full range of tools to support the economy in this time. Host when it comes to your financial picture since the start of the pandemic, are you better, worse, or have you stayed the same . If you are better off, 202 7488000, worse off, 202 7488001, if you have stayed the same 202 7488002. Ou can also text us trena, in indiana, in warsaw, says that she has stayed the same. Caller good morning. Financial position is pretty much the same. Before this happened we were having to watch our spending anyway. Making sure the bills get paid. Really has not impacted us because we have not been frivolous before this with the money that we had. We have always watched what we spend, and been careful not to get in over our heads. Host whats the worst acute the work situation in your household, are you still working . Caller know, my husband is going back to work next week. But we have been laid off for a month. Did send that congress the extra money. Without it, we would really have on justime surviving unemployment in indiana. Host did you have trouble receiving money from the government as far as the stimulus checks that were sent out . Caller oh no, we got ours, we. Id direct deposit we have always had direct deposit. So we had no problem getting it. Ist and for your husband, if may ask, what type of work does he do . Caller he works for a boat company. They make boats. Host and hes going back to work next week . Caller yes. Host trina telling us about her experience. In west virginia, this is curtis, who says the situation is worse for him. Good morning. Caller good morning. My situation is much worse off. I spent the last five years caring for my grandmother who had alzheimers. Livingely unemployed, off of her pension that she had. Before thehree weeks whole thing had hit, she got to the purse where she had to be put into a nursing home. And i set i will go back to the workforce. After about a week and a half of dealing with getting her stabilized and comfortable in a care facility, everything geared up in terms of this pandemic and now im basically living on food stamps. Up, a month, bills piling and no option to get a job. My situation is basically living off of the food i can grow. So my situation has no potential moving towards the positives until its completely over. Host aside from caring for your grandmother, what work had you held before . Caller before that i worked in museums and art galleries. Illinois,ally from when i was of working age i moved to new york city and went to college and worked in new york city galleries and museums. From the first job i had i worked at an art supply store and worked my way up into working into big galleries and museums. I had all the savings that i had when i left and i used them here to keep me and my grandma stable. Her friend her pension was fairly low. New york city is an expensive place to live, so what savings i had here did not last very long. , being done taking care of my grandma and terms of and i havent even been able to ofit her since the last week february is when they told us here no more visiting. Story, ins curtiss west virginia. Pennsylvania,n says he is worse off. Caller good morning. God bless you. And watch over us and get us through this. I had a Small Business, its closed. A Small Business is hard to keep up with. What type of business was that . A salt maker, and im retired. This was mostly about my mother, my mothers at a Rehab Facility in new york city. I decided they were not doing the best for her, they acted like they wanted to keep her there. My mother had her mental faculties so we moved and took my mother back to her apartment and we are now taking care of her. Because what was going on here was terrible. Runningso many people around without any protective gear and my mothers 95, shes a very badsurvived staph infection for a good six months. Ive been retired 10 years, but im almost a doctor. Host when it comes to business, do you expect to return to some type of normalcy . Whats the future . Caller i put my faith in the lord, whatever his will is, thats the way it will go. I wish more of us would understand that there is a higher power, and the reason our country is in this condition is because we dont do enough to for what we have. Host layouts have skyrocketed since the pandemic has started according to an article, it will be made public that the Unemployment Rate in april hit double digits in the first time in decades. With new claims for jobless benefits hitting more than 26 million. Personal consumption, the bull walked, fell at a 7. 6 percent rate. From Services Like haircuts to legal advice accounting for nearly half of the total gdp and spending fell. And spending on new cars was offset by stockpiling items like food and household essentials. Stephanie off of facebook wrote that my husband and i are both working, luckily. We are in for a slower recovery than we would like and we will take time to recoup. Speaker pelosi i am pleased to be joined by mr. Carver, the democratic whip, the chair on the committee on the coronavirus. Today we are here to talk about how we can reach out to everyone as we reach out with broadband. Mr. Cochran will be addressing that, hes been a champion