I’m a single parent struggling to maintain my household while Congress is on vacation after our stimulus unemployment benefits expired.

Every business in the country has been impacted by COVID-19 in one way or another. But few sectors have been as hard hit, or will face a longer road to recovery, than the travel agency industry.

The travel agency sector is looking at an extinction-level event. This would deprive the traveling public of the critical services travel advisers provide and travel suppliers’ (airlines, hotels, cruise lines, etc.) main distribution channel crippled.

So, what was the response in Congress to this devastation in our industry and many others? After negotiations over the next relief bill deadlocked, they adjourned for their annual “August recess” and are not scheduled to return until mid-September.

My message to our elected officials on behalf of the 140,000 people who work in our industry is simple: Get back to work and support the small businesses that desperately need your help.

Doing nothing is not an option. The future of our country depends on it!

Mary Lou Simpson
Phoenix