Josh Hawley: All American jobs must be protected during pandemic

As millions of Americans are filing for unemployment and Congress is preparing a fourth bill to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, has unveiled a proposal to protect all American jobs, which is strikingly different from proposals others in his party have offered in the past.

In an op-ed in today's Washington Post,  Hawley says the government needs to protect all American jobs and goes further than the steps that were taken in the recent stimulus package.

Beginning immediately, the federal government should cover 80 percent of wages for workers at any U.S. business, up to the national median wage, until this emergency is over. Further, it should offer businesses a bonus for rehiring workers laid off over the past month. The goal must be to get unemployment down — now — to secure American workers and their families, and to help businesses get ready to restart as soon as possible.

Hawley's plan also calls for a crackdown on American corporate interests that are taking advantage of COVID-19 to reap profits and for working to restore the supply chain of critical equipment that now forces us to rely on overseas sources.

The present crisis has revealed just how vital domestic production is to our national life. And yet, for decades, an alliance of big government and big business conspired to outsource the manufacturing of our most crucial supplies and equipment to China and other overseas sites.