Media and Entertainment Groups Call on Congress to Provide Pandemic Risk Insurance

Media and entertainment groups, including the Screen Actors Guild, Motion Picture Association, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, NASCAR, the NFL and more, have penned a letter to congressional leadership, asking Congress to provide pandemic risk insurance.

The letter, which can be read HERE, states:

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leaders McConnell, McCarthy and Schumer:

Thank you for your leadership in confronting the recent challenges facing our nation.

The undersigned organizations represent a broad coalition of job creators employing millions of American workers in the news, sports and entertainment fields. Our industries comprise hundreds of thousands of small businesses that generate middle-class wages of more than $200 billion annually.

Representing a wide swath of stakeholders that have become ingrained in the very fabric of American culture, we are working tirelessly to help Americans feel a sense of normalcy again. Whether it be professional and collegiate sporting events, the next must-see film, a bingeworthy TV series, or a marquee Broadway production, we cannot envision any long-term recovery of these American experiences without some form of business interruption insurance that mitigates the risks associated with producing these popular events and programs in the COVID era now facing the country.

In short, the ability of American businesses like ours to secure pandemic risk insurance will be a key factor to America's economic recovery.

Thankfully, Congress has begun to take the appropriate steps to help protect American workers and job creators from these risks. Representative Carolyn Maloney has introduced legislation that represents a positive step in that direction. Reports of several Senate proposals addressing business interruption insurance under consideration are encouraging as well. We recognize that there are a variety of effective bipartisan approaches that could be undertaken to reach a legislative solution addressing the outsized economic risk posed by COVID-19 and future pandemics. We stand ready to work with all parties on both sides of the Capitol to ensure the U.S. economy can re-start effectively and is prepared for future pandemic-related disruptions.

We thank you for your commitment to ensuring the health and well-being of the American public as well as an economic recovery that will eventually put our country back to work. We remain steadfast in our resolve to help in every way we can.

Sincerely,

Motion Picture Association

Independent Film & Television Alliance

NCTA - The Internet & Television Association

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees

NASCAR

National Football League

Directors Guild of America

National Association of Broadcasters

Producers Guild of America

NPACT

Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers