Congressman Adam Schiff Continues Push For Arts Relief Funding

Deadline spoke with Congressman Adam Schiff regarding his ongoing mission to secure relief funding for entertainment and arts professionals who have been put out of work due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Though President Trump signed a relief package earlier this week, unions say that the program won't apply to many workers in the entertainment field.

Negotiations have begun on the newly unveiled Republican Senate relief package which is said to include $1,200 direct payments for many individual taxpayers, as well as back tax payments for corporations and employer payroll taxes, and loans to businesses big and small.

Yet unions worry that the bill won't address the specialized nature of employment in show business, which includes freelancers and contract players and performers.

This week Schiff sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosy and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, urging them to include provisions for entertainment professionals in relief legislation.

Schiff tells Deadline, "They're every bit as deserving of a financial lifeline as anyone else in the country...And in some ways, we should be even more in debt because so many are finding solace and entertainment in watching their creative work product from home right now."

Read the congressman's full interview with Deadline.

Congressman Schiff also wrote an op-ed for Variety detailing his plan for legislative aid to the arts and entertainment field.