AOC, Schumer Announce Coronavirus Funeral Benefits for Low Income New Yorkers

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) held a joint press conference on Monday, announcing funeral benefits to assist low-income New Yorkers in covering the cost of burying their loved ones who have died of the Chinese coronavirus.

Speaking from Corona, Queens, on Monday, the lawmakers announced the $267 million in funeral benefits as part of $2 billion in disaster relief funds which will be distributed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“It’s official. If you’ve lost a loved one due to COVID-19, you will soon be able to get reimbursed up to $7,000 for the expenses of laying a loved one to rest,” Ocasio-Cortez announced on Monday:

FEMA will be operating & is authorized for $2 billion as of now. Program is retroactive & will reimburse back to January 2020.

Start collecting docs now. FEMA will need expense documentation (receipts/invoices), death certificate, & docs for caller ID. Includes the undocumented.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 8, 2021

“When you suddenly lose a love one, you’re talking about an opens of 4, 5, 7, $10,000,” she said during Monday’s press conference. “And then during COVID, with overrun funeral facilities etcetera, families also are having to deal with having to pay for the storage of the bodies of their own loved ones.”

“This is wrong,” she added:

Rep. @AOC and Sen. Chuck Schumer announce funeral benefits for low-income New Yorkers who have died from COVID.

"Families also are having to pay for the storage of the bodies of their own loved ones. This is wrong." pic.twitter.com/44pCxpaq3p

— The Recount (@therecount) February 8, 2021

“For families, the terrible loss of a loved one to COVID is exacerbated by the costs of funerals and burials many can’t afford right now,” Schumer said. “That’s why @AOC and I delivered $2 billion for FEMA to pay funeral and burial costs for families in need—including for countless New Yorkers”:

For families, the terrible loss of a loved one to COVID is exacerbated by the costs of funerals and burials many can't afford right now.

That's why @AOC and I delivered $2 billion for FEMA to pay funeral and burial costs for families in need—including for countless New Yorkers.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 8, 2021

New York State, whose leaders have implemented some of the most stringent public health measures in the country, has seen the highest number of coronavirus fatalities since the start of the pandemic, reporting 44,979 deaths, according to Worldometers.

2,336,867 individuals have been vaccinated in New York State, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) February 7 data.