In May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Heroes Act, which would extend enhanced unemployment benefits, including the extra $600 per week, through January 2021. The Heroes Act includes provisions to renew the Federal unemployment benefit for everyone, including those who work in the Performing Arts industry.

In June, AGMA sent a call to action to its members encouraging them to write their senators and demand they extend the enhanced unemployment benefits past July 31. Nearly 3,000 letters were sent!! WOW.

It is now the end of July, the Senate has still not voted on this critical piece of legislation, and the extra $600 a week in UI - known as Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) - along with other enhanced benefits, are set to expire in a matter of days.

The Senate must act NOW. Contact your Senators and tell them to support critical pieces of the Heroes Act. We cannot allow fundamental economic lifelines to be severed for artists who spend their lives bringing joy to people across the country.

All you have to do is enter your address to access the pre-drafted letter which you can send as is or personalize any way you like; personal stories always help! You MUST enter your own personalized subject line, to avoid being sent to spam thanks to the filters some elected officials might have set up. You do not need to hunt down the names and addresses of your elected officials, they will automatically populate based on your address.

You do not need to be an AGMA member to send a letter through this campaign. Every voice, every supporter of the Arts, matters. We hope you to take a further step and encourage your family, friends, and social networks to write their Senators as well by sharing this link on your platforms. At the end of the day, it’s not just about extending these benefits for performing artists, it is about extending this for everyone currently unable to return to work.