Dear Member,
It’s time to mobilize the yoga community to extend CARES Act unemployment benefits and continued relief for small businesses.
Thousands of you participated in our summer advocacy campaign which backed extension of federal financial support provided under the CARES Act to small businesses and individuals. Unfortunately, certain CARES Act benefits were allowed to expire on July 31, 2020, and Congress remained at a standstill for months. Today, more benefits are set to end on December 31, 2020—making it vital that Congress act now to extend critical relief measures for those in need.
Given the importance of these programs, our collective voice must continue to be heard as Congress negotiates a new COVID-19 relief bill during the 2020 lame-duck legislative session. Using our automated Congressional email, you can customize a personalized note to your state’s elected officials showing your support for renewing crucial relief for individuals and small businesses. This could:
- Extend the CARES Act unemployment insurance programs, including:
- the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program that provides unemployment benefits to self-employed workers; and
- the provisions that extend unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks (from 26 weeks to 39 weeks) and that provide an additional, several-hundred-dollar federal benefit, above traditional unemployment insurance amounts.
- Reauthorize the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses or institute a similar financing program specifically for small businesses, like yoga studios and yoga teacher training programs, that are suffering from pandemic-related impacts.
- Distribute another round of economic impact payments directly to individuals and their families.
Contact Congress Now
Reach out to us with feedback, questions, or concerns at yaadvocacy@yogaalliance.org. Thank you for the work that you do for your communities—always, and especially in these difficult times. And, please be sure to visit our resource site for other ways to help improve your work and lives.
Your Yoga Alliance