New Yorkers in need turned to lawmakers

Congressional offices have seen big increase in requests for help

While the coronavirus pandemic raged this year, congressional offices received a barrage of calls, emails and tweets from desperate constituents.

When constituents didn’t receive their stimulus check, the phones rang. When they were stuck abroad as borders closed and flights were canceled, the phones rang. When small businesses struggled to get Paycheck Protection Program loans, the phones rang.

Many congressional offices saw constituent casework dramatically spike this year compared with previous years as more people sought help with issues involving federal agencies. The office of U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D -Amsterdam, told the Times Union it opened 1,972 constituent cases in 2020, up from 857 in 2019.

“My office has seen casework nearly double this year,” said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D -N.Y. “The frequency of cases regarding food and housing insecurity, health care and unemployment insurance have increased while we have

worked to solve new issues for constituents that were trapped abroad or need help navigating (Paycheck Protection Program) loans, economic impact payments, and more. It’s clear that this pandemic has put many New Yorkers in need of help and my staff is working hard to deliver it.”

At the start of the pandemic, when the U.S. issued travel bans and many commercial flights were canceled, New York congressional offices helped hundreds of travelers — who were stranded in countries like Morocco, Argentina, Ukraine, Honduras, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, Spain, France,

Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Austria, Peru, Thailand, the Philippines, Columbia and Zimbabwe — get access to repatriation flights through the U.S. Department of State. Some constituents were also stuck on cruise ships in various locations.

The staff of Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D -N.Y., helped New York hospitals expedite visas for health care workers from foreign countries so more doctors could begin their medical residencies in New York or return to work after they traveled outside the U.S. prior to travel restrictions.

“This year, there was a torrent of cases due to the pandemic, including an overwhelming number of cases related to being stranded overseas, processing aid through the SBA for countless restaurants and small businesses throughout the state, tracking down answers from the IRS on desperately needed stimulus checks that were never delivered and much more,” said Allison Biasotti, a spokeswoman for Schumer. “A small staff worked around the clock to respond to the urgent needs of many thousands of constituents, and more often than not secured positive results.”

When a Sullivan County facility specializing in treating behavioral disorders received about $13,000 in pandemic relief funds, Gillibrand’s office intervened with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, helping them expedite an application for second-round funding and get over $1 million for the center, an aide said.

Caseworkers put in extra hours to keep up with the giant influx, as they worked remotely and tried to contact agencies that were also working remotely or, sometimes, partially closed. At the start of the pandemic, the office of U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D -Rhinebeck, had staff working every weekend to respond to constituent calls, an aide said.

They dealt with glitches and loopholes amid new relief programs Congress had invented and agency delays caused by staff shortages, mail delays and other issues. In addition to working on legislation, they tackled constituent issues big and small — one congressional office in Connecticut said it helped a frantic mother of three get toilet paper during the early quarantine shortage.

Congressional offices also saw a great spike in communications from constituents waiting to get their stimulus check or experiencing delays getting their 2019 tax refund.

Although over 9.8 million New Yorkers have received their checks, the Times Union found hundreds of residents are still waiting for that help to arrive, even with the assistance of congressional offices.

Congress approved another round of smaller, $600 economic payments in the stimulus bill passed the night of Dec. 27, so caseworkers forecast they’ll be helping more people with these payments in 2021.

Similarly, a dash to access the popular and forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses also prompted many constituents to reach out for help.

There, too, congressional staff believe the phones will keep ringing. Congress has also approved a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans for businesses with fewer than 300 employees who could demonstrate revenue declines, and they broadened the forgivable uses for first round loans.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R- Schuylerville, did not respond to requests for comment on her casework.