CLEVELAND, Ohio-Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (pictured), a Toledo Democrat whose ninth congressional district reaches along the Lake Erie Shore from Toledo to Cleveland and the longest serving woman in Congress, is demanding more coronavirus federal funding for hard hit Northeast Ohio, which includes Cleveland, and for first responders like police officers, firefighters and EMS workers, and she says she will also help the nation's Black community, which has been disproportionately impacted by the deadly disease.

Kaptur and House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Cochair Debbie Dingell (D-MI) along with Dean Phillips (D-MN) and Andy Levin (D-MI) hosted a press call on Thursday for regional reporters as House Democrats demand support for the region’s front-line public service workers in the next coronavirus aid package, CARES 2

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com Editor Kathy Wray Coleman was invited by Congress to participate via the aforementioned congressional conference call and posed the question to Kaptur of what Congress intends to do about the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on the Black community as Blacks are dying at two to five times the rate of Whites in major cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, Kaptur saying the issue will be addressed and that she will work on the matter with fellow Democrat Rep Marcia L Fudge,  a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus whose largely Black 11th congressional district includes the largely Black east side of Cleveland.

"I will work with Congresswoman Fudge on this," said Kaptur, relative to Blacks remaining at risk regarding the pandemic.

The federal lawmaker also provided the below editorial to Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

Editorial below by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur-May 3, 2020

In January, President Donald Trump kicked off his 2020 campaign in Toledo, my home city and a city I’m honored to represent in Congress. Nationally, Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, which spans Lake Erie from Toledo to Cleveland, ranks 407th of 435 congressional districts in terms of median household income. The outsourcing of jobs and unbalanced trade agreements have hit our region very hard for decades. Now, the recession resulting from the coronavirus pandemic rubs salt in the wound.

When I voted for the CARES Act, which included a record $2.3 trillion in assistance to offset the damage caused by a rapidly deepening recession, I did so in order to direct a fair and immediate allocation of federal resources to our already economically strapped region. The text of the legislation gives distribution preference based on “population.” I agree.

Unfortunately, the people of northern Ohio and I are still waiting to see what Donald Trump does for a region that he promised the stars in January.

At the insistence of Republican senators, the act tilts its preference for financial support to cities of more than 500,000 people. But not a single city in northern Ohio meets that population standard. Toledo and Cleveland are both excluded from direct funding, even though each could easily satisfy the threshold if their greater metropolitan areas were counted. In fact, the only city in Ohio that qualifies for direct funding is Columbus.

Just because northern Ohio communities are not as densely populated as the country’s largest cities is not any reason to shortchange our workers, families, and businesses during a global pandemic. People here work hard and pay their federal taxes, too. They have earned their fair share.

I’ve done the math. Cuyahoga County should receive close to $215 million. Based on the text of the legislation, Toledo would be due close to $48 million, Lakewood $9 million, Parma $13.7 million, Sylvania $3.3 million, Maumee $2.4 million, Sandusky $4.3 million, Lorain $11.2 million, and Elyria $9.4 million. These figures set the bar for the minimum allocation that communities in northern Ohio should receive back from the Treasury, based on their population. A citizen of northern Ohio should not be worth less than one in Columbus, New York City, or Los Angeles.

Our region hosts the busiest port on the lower Great Lakes, America’s leading solar company, First Solar, some of the largest automotive manufacturing plants on the continent, critical steel production platforms, and so much more.

Northern Ohio is a tight-knit economic region. Unfortunately, its communities have faced massive budget shortfalls due to lost revenues and expenses related to COVID-19. City and county executives must choose between tax hikes on an already overwhelmed community or cuts to life-saving services, including first responders, firefighters, or other front-line workers at a time when they are needed most.

I’m pleased to support a bipartisan group of Northern Ohio city and county officials in their bid for direct funding.

The Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) have written to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, asking that they receive direct funds on behalf of the communities they represent.

TMACOG serves as the coordinating agency for Northwest Ohio counties, including, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Wood, and Fulton, home to more than 700,000 people, while NOACA serves more than 2,000,000 people in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lorain, Lake, and Medina counties. As local units of government under Ohio’s state constitution, the text of the CARES Act intended for these entities to be eligible for funding.

As regional coordinating agencies, TMACOG and NOACA should play a leading role in coordinating policy solutions to complex regional challenges, such as COVID-19.

Our region’s unemployment levels are rising dramatically. Our first responders and front-line health care workers are heroic. We’re not a capital city, but we are significant. Our people need help. Now, we need the Trump administration to follow Congress’ lead and fulfill the president’s promise to aid our region when it is needed most.

By Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur-May 3, 2020