$2 Billion Allocated to Help Families Pay for COVID-Related Funerals, Democrats Announce

$2 Billion Allocated to Help Families Pay for COVID-Related Funerals, Democrats Announce

Americans that met unexpected funeral expenses in 2020 could receive some reimbursement from a $2 billion fund operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday.More than 3 million people died in 2020 from complications of COVID-19, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of Monday, 464,768 Americans have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. In addition, coronavirus safety protocols caused the closure of many businesses deemed non-essential, throwing many Americans out of work.Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez announced the establishment of the funeral relief fund at an event in Queens, New York."If you are a family who couldn't afford or had to just stretch, went without rent or went without food or anything else so you might give your loved one a decent funeral and burial, you can get reimbursed for up to $7,000 from FEMA," Schumer said Monday at a news conference.Schumer said that because of the pandemic, many families "don't have money for a proper funeral and a proper burial. And that is just awful and inhumane."Ocasio-Cortez said that funeral facilities were "overrun" with COVID-related fatalities and