Broadband HEROES

On May 12, House Democrats unveiled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. "We are presenting a plan to do what is necessary to address the corona crisis," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she announced the legislation. Since more people are relying on home broadband service than ever before -- after all, broadband puts the "distance" in social distancing -- the HEROS Act includes many provisions to get a lot more people in the US connected and safe. As we go to press, the House of Representatives plans to vote on the HEROES Act later today and the measure is likely to pass. Prospects in the Senate are not as good. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said there is no "urgency." The Senate will wait until after Memorial Day to consider COVID response options. Republicans are wary of another round of aid and Sen. McConnell declared the Democratic proposal a grab bag of "pet priorities." He said it is not something that "deals with reality." The reality for voters, however, may be in the numbers: 85,000 deaths, nearly 1.5 million cases, and, of course, nearly 37 million people filing for unemployment insurance.