Resources for storm and flood damage; Help for unemployed people
I am working with state and local government to help affected Philadelphia residents and businesses recover from the recent Hurricane Ida storm and flooding damage. You can find the latest updates from the city Office of Emergency Management (OEM) by clicking here. Resources for recovery are also available on that website.
Last week, I joined with my House colleagues who also represent portions of Philadelphia in urging Governor Tom Wolf to provide state resources to help the city and its residents to recover from the storm and flooding, and to request federal support through a major disaster declaration.
OEM urges Philadelphia businesses and homeowners to take photos of any storm or flood damage. If it is safe to do so, take photos before any repairs are made. To help the city understand the extent of damage and to see where resources may be needed, OEM is urging residents and businesses impacted by the storm to answer a short survey and upload any photos they may have into OEM's damage assessment tool. (The short survey is at the same link.)
That tool and the on-site damage assessment by OEM and partners helps the city inform state and federal agencies about local damages and access future resources to aid recovery. Damage can also be reported to 311 during standard hours, which includes interpretation services for non-English-speaking business or home owners.
Help for unemployed people
While the special federally funded unemployment supplements provided during the height of the pandemic have expired, help is still available through several other programs. Many of them are partly or entirely federally funded. The programs include:
Emergency Rental Assistance Program – available at PHLRentAssist.org for Philadelphians
Children's Health Insurance Program
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as "food stamps")
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Child Care Works subsidized child care
Pennie (Pennsylvania's health-care coverage exchange)
Local Food Assistance Resources
Build Back Better work continues in Washington
This week and next week, I will be helping to shape and advance President Biden's "Build Back Better" plan. Both of my committees will be working on the legislation – Small Business; and Ways and Means, which oversees taxes, trade, Medicare and Social Security. You can follow my Build Back Better updates on social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter.
The plan would make major investments in child care, tax cuts for families and workers, education, paid family and medical leave, health care, tackling climate change, affordable housing, immigration and repairing our schools – I am working to include my school-repair tax credit, which has previously passed the House, in the legislation. I believe the plan would also do a great deal to restore tax fairness and rein in prescription drug costs. You can read more about the plan here.
Evening & weekend phone hours: To serve you better, my Philadelphia office has expanded our telephone hours for constituents who have difficulty calling during normal work hours. If you need help with a federal issue, you can reach the office by phone (215-276-0340) on Wednesday evenings from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can also email the office by clicking here or fill out a federal privacy form for help with your case (if needed) by clicking here.
Staying informed: To keep up with information and services between these updates, I invite you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – including updates on my Facebook and Instagram Stories. If you received this newsletter as a forward, click here to start receiving it straight to your own inbox.