Services

Daily Updates: 

For daily updates on the number positive COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 related deaths in El Paso, please visit epstrong.org. For updates on the number of confirmed and pending cases in Texas, please visit the DSHS website. This is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will provide updated information and guidance as it becomes available.

What Congress is Doing:

On March 10, Congresswoman Escobar voted to send the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to President Joe Biden’s desk and on March 11, President Biden signed this legislation into law.

This law will crush COVID-19 and generate and inclusive recovery for El Paso and communities across the country with:

1. Shots in arms,
2. Money in pockets,
3. Children in schools, and
4. People in jobs.

SHOTS IN ARMS

• The American Rescue Plan Act meets and exceeds President Biden’s request to invest $20 billion in a coordinated, nationwide vaccine program to:
• Make sure we have enough vaccines for all Americans through research, development, manufacturing, production, and purchase.
• Get those vaccines out to all Americans quickly and equitably through community vaccination centers, mobile vaccination units and more.
• Improve communication to strengthen confidence in the vaccine and make sure all Americans know when, where and how they can get one.
• It will also scale up testing and tracing, address shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, invest in high-quality treatments, and address health care disparities.

MONEY IN POCKETS

• The American Rescue Plan Act provides rescue checks of up to $1,400 for individuals. Combined with the $600 down payments enacted in December, these additional checks fulfill our promise to put $2,000 in Americans’ pockets.
• It will extend pandemic-related unemployment benefits, with the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits received in 2020 tax free, so 18 million American workers can pay their bills.
• It will help keep people in their homes and apartments with housing assistance; put food on tables with nutrition assistance for 40 million Americans; support 27 million children with an expanded Child Tax Credit and support more than 17 million workers through the Earned Income Tax Credit; and lower health care costs to help families stay covered in the pandemic.

CHILDREN IN SCHOOLS

• The American Rescue Plan makes nearly $130 billion immediately available to State Education Departments so they can: 1. Get schools open safely 2. Keep schools open safely 3. Make up for lost learning time. Superintendents, school boards, the PTA, and others told Congress they need the American Rescue Act and we are listening to them.
• The American Rescue Plan also provides resources for higher education, Head Start and childcare facilities.

PEOPLE IN JOBS

• The American Rescue Plan Act will provide crucial support to help the hardest-hit small businesses keep their doors open – especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination – with: $15 billion in Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) grants, expanded Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) eligibility and an additional $7.25 billion in funding, $28.6 billion to revitalize restaurants, food, and beverage establishments, and additional resources to help small and disadvantaged businesses navigate and access COVID relief programs.
• The plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers and other essential workers, who all Americans depend on. State and local governments have been forced to lay off 1.4 million public servants due to the pandemic.
• With the American Rescue Plan, economists estimate that we can bring the economy back to near full employment in a little over 12 months. Without the American Rescue Plan, CBO estimates it will take at least three years before employment returns to pre-pandemic levels.

FAQs

Congresswoman Veronica Escobar has heard from many El Pasoans who are concerned about the coronavirus and wants to answer some of your frequently asked questions. Click here to read her answers.

Coronavirus Resource Guide

For information and resources available to you and your family, click here to read Congresswoman Escobar's guide of federal, state, and local resources. 

You will find critical information on:

• Hotlines and Testing
• El Paso's "Stay Home, Work Safe" Order and Texas Executive Orders and Public Health Disaster Declaration
• Economic Impact Payments
• Unemployment Insurance and Emergency Paid Leave
• Small Businesses
• Students and Educators
• Coronavirus Scams and Fraud
• Housing
  
• Food Assistance
• Utility Assistance and Bills
• Mental Health Resource
• Travel
• Información en Español
  
• And more