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Mississippi Coronavirus Update May 28, 2020

Dear Friend,

This week, I returned to Washington, D.C., despite approximately 70 of my Democratic colleagues deciding to stay home instead of returning to work for the American people and handing their votes over to other Members of Congress instead of representing their constituents. I believe it is the duty of Members of Congress to uphold our Constitution by representing their constituents in the halls of Congress and in the House chamber, not delegating these responsibilities to another Representative. For 231 years, our government has relied on debate in the House to craft legislation and required Members to cast their own votes on legislation. This is a precedent that should not be broken. That is why I am working with my fellow Republicans to fight this unconstitutional rule in the courts and protect our democracy. I have called on Nancy Pelosi to repeal her unconstitutional proxy voting rule, and I am joining Leader McCarthy and other Members to file a lawsuit against Speaker Pelosi to overturn this rule and protect our Constitution.

COVID-19 Testing Sites and Resources

The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) will be operating drive-through testing sites in the coming days. If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19 and are interested in being tested, please download the C Spire Health app or dial (601) 496-7200.

• May 29th – Hinds County: New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 140 W. Maple Street, Jackson
• May 30th – George County: George County Fairgrounds, 9162 Old 635, Lucedale
• May 30th – Leake County: Red Water Facility Building, 535 Red Water Road, Carthage
• June 1st – Kemper County: Kemper County High School, 200 Martin Luther King Jr. Street, De Kalb
• June 1st – Panola County: Fred’s, 411 E. Lee Street, Sardis
• June 2nd – Pike County: Pike County Health Department, 114 E. Presley Blvd, McComb

I have compiled a list of resources on my website for your convenience. By visiting my Coronavirus Relief page, you can find helpful information on managing this crisis. We will continue to update the page as more information becomes available, so be sure to check back every few days and subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates.

Small Business Loan Forgiveness

Today, I supported H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, to provide more flexibility to businesses that utilized Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to maintain their payrolls. Many of the regulations of the PPP would be relaxed under this legislation in order for more businesses to qualify for loan forgiveness. The loan forgiveness period would be expanded from 8 weeks to 24 weeks after the issuance of the loan or December 31st, whichever comes first, and would extend the timeframe eligible for loan forgiveness to December 31st. We are on track to get our economy running strong again, and I will continue to support pro-growth policies for the American people.

For a detailed look on the proposed changes, you can view the Small Business Committee’s one-pager by clicking here.

Supporting our Veterans

I also supported legislation to provide our veterans with a cost-of-living adjustment. Our veterans deserve the best our nation can provide, which is why I’m proud to support additional assistance for our heroes. The bill includes a one-time cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for disabled veterans and their families. The COLA would be able to cover wartime disability compensation, a clothing allowance, and compensation for children and surviving spouses. The compensation amounts would be determined based on the Social Security Administration (SSA) adjustment and vary based on degree of disability and would go into effect on December 1st.

Latest Statistics

As of Thursday, May 28th, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 1,698,523 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States. From Wednesday to Thursday, we saw 19,680 additional cases. The number of individuals who have passed away as a result of infection increased by 1,415 nationwide, and the total number of deaths in the U.S. from the virus is now 100,446. See below for graphs and infographics from the Mississippi State Department of Health on the number of cases in Mississippi. As reported today, an additional 328 Mississippians have contracted the coronavirus, and 23 more Mississippians passed away from the virus. In total, 163,530 Mississippians have been tested for COVID-19.

Sincerely

Michael Guest

Member of Congress