This week, we track the hardships connected to one of the 38 states (includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) with rising COVID-19 caseloads: Texas. Decisions to reopen without adequate preparation are powering the caseload surge nationwide, with 59,880 cases on July 9, the sixth single-day record in the past 10 days. As of July 10, the U.S. had more than 3.1 million cases and 133,000 deaths. The spiking pandemic brings more than sickness – it also inflicts severe economic hardships. The Senate must join the House in enacting COVID recovery legislation similar to the House’s HEROES Act as soon after its return as possible.

Evictions are coming and the potential numbers are terrifying. A panel of experts warns that between 19 million and 23 million Americans are at risk of eviction by the end of September. That is roughly one in five of the 110 million Americans who live in renter households. “That wave [of evictions] has already begun. We are trying to prevent it from becoming a tsunami,” Diane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, told the Washington Post. 

Colleges and universities have been places of protest, advocacy, activism, and social justice throughout history. From anti-war protests in the 1960s to marches fueled by the 2016 presidential election, college students have always gathered attention for their involvement in social movements. There has been no exception when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement and calls for anti-racism in 2020.  

The U.S. Senate will be finishing up today without having taken up a new COVID-19 relief bill. It will be out until July 20. In the meantime, most states are starting up a new fiscal year as of July 1, with plummeting revenues and no assurance that the federal government will provide aid to prevent service cuts and state and local government worker layoffs. From February through June, there have already been 1.5 million state and local worker layoffs, out of 15 million public sector workers. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reminded the Senate this week that the economic downturn would be prolonged, and that the “path forward will also depend on the policy actions taken at all levels of government to provide relief and to support the recovery for as long as needed.”