CIRPJournal THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC - Carnegie Mellon University
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CIRP
Journal
Featuring interviews with professors Baruch
Fischhoff and Wändi Bruine de Bruin
WINTER 2021 VO LUM E 5 , I S SU E 2
THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
CIRP Journal
Table of Contents
7 Letter from the Publisher and 34 Redefining National Security
Editor-in-Chief Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
Kiron K. Skinner Audrey Pederson and Eri Phinisee
39 The Impacts of COVID-19 on State
Articles and Non-State Actors in the
Middle East
8 Addressing Learning Disabilities in James C. Summers II and Chandler
Remote Learning During the Stacy
COVID-19 Pandemic
Jackie Wu and Renée Nikolov Interviews
13 COVID-19 in US Prisons and Jails:
A Public Health Emergency 44 Interview with Baruch Fischhoff
Catherine Taipe and Dylan Pollak Interviewed by Bill Brink
19 The Impact of COVID-19 on the 48 Interview with Wändi Bruine de
Public Sector Bruin
Arjun Ramachandran and Simon Lee Interviewed by Bill Brink
24 Coronavirus Relief Bills: Accessibility
and Sustainability
M. Angelica Kim and Zofia Majewski
29 Economic Effects of COVID-19 in the
United States and Pennsylvania
Jivak Nischal and Omasan Richardson
CIRP Journal
EDITORS:
Publisher and
Editor-in-Chief:
Kiron K. Skinner
Managing Editor:
John J. Chin
Associate Editors:
Bill Brink
Emily Half
Abby Schachter
Founding Editors:
Yong-Gyun Choi
Amanda Kennard
Inyoung Song
Audrey Williams
Cover Artist:
Yoshi Torralva
Copyright © 2021 by the Center for
International Relations and Politics,
Carnegie Mellon University
Posner Hall 386
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
www.cmu.edu/ir
ISSN: 2328-9295
4
C O N T R I BU T O R S :
Minseo Angelica Simon Lee Zofia Majewski Renée Nikolov
Kim
Jivak Nischal Audrey Pederson Eri Phinisee Dylan Pollak
Arjun Omasan Richardson Chandler Stacy James C. Summers II
Ramachandran
Catherine Taipe Jackie Wu
5
6
Letter from the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Dear Reader,
This is the tenth edition of the CIRP Journal, sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University’s Center
for International Relations and Politics (CIRP) and Institute for Politics and Strategy (IPS). This
is also the second issue to feature submissions that were commissioned from participants in the
Carnegie Mellon University Washington Semester Program (CMU/WSP).
Founded in 2014, the Washington Semester Program brings students to live, intern, and study
in Washington, DC. In the fall of 2020, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our stu-
dents were still able to fully participate in the full range of CMU/WSP learning, internship, and
professional experiences. These students came into direct contact with political, business, and
community leaders inside and outside the beltway and gained insights into the most pressing
policy issues of the day, including the political, social, and economic implications of the CO-
VID-19 pandemic. We are so excited to share those insights with you in this edition of the CIRP
Journal. The articles reflect the breadth and depth of the disruption and destruction caused by
the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting massive effects as close as Pittsburgh and as far away
as the Middle East.
Let me also thank Baruch Fischhoff and Wändi Bruine de Bruin for agreeing to be interviewed
by our associate editor and IPS communications specialist Bill Brink for this issue. Readers will
no doubt find insights about the uncertainties and responses to the coronavirus pandemic from
two world-renowned CMU-affiliated experts in decision science and risk management.
We welcome your feedback and thank you for your consideration of these important conversa-
tions. We pray for the day when we can study the COVID-19 pandemic as history. Until then,
please get vaccinated as soon as possible, maintain social distance, and wear a mask where ap-
propriate.
Sincerely,
Kiron K. Skinner
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
7
Addressing Learning Disabilities in Remote Learning During
the COVID-19 Pandemic
JAC K I E W U A N D R E N É E N I KO L OV
T he COVID-19 pandemic closed down more than half of public school buildings in the
United States in the spring of 2020, affecting at least 50.8 million students.1 The transition
from in-person instruction to remote learning has been difficult for students and teachers alike.
However, young children with learning disabilities are especially vulnerable to having their
educational needs overlooked during the pandemic, which could have negative effects in the
long run and perhaps leave many of the most vulnerable children permanently behind in terms
of education. According to the latest figures from the National Center for Education Statistics,
there are over 2.3 million students with specific learning disabilities, making up 4.6 percent of
total public school enrollment.2 So far, these students with learning disabilities are not getting
the proper education they need during the pandemic.3 In this article we explain the nature
and severity of remote learning issues that impact young students with learning disabilities.
Providing all students with an equal opportunity to learn is important for an equitable society.
Remote Learning for Young Children
Remote learning structures for young students adopted by many schools during the
COVID-19 pandemic vary by classroom, school, and district. Some districts enforce a fixed
schedule with a combination of live virtual instruction and “independent work time” while
other districts provide students pre-recorded videos and assignments and request that parents
structure their children’s educational schedule.4 While some schools encourage students to
use online programs to practice math and reading skills, other schools send their students
worksheets and instructions to rely on Google Classroom to study. Some districts, like New
York, send interactive learning kits to students’ homes in order to enable hands-on learning.
Despite differences in how remote learning is executed across the United States,
almost all remote learning plans rely on technology and virtual resources to conduct classroom
activities. Students often use video chat software, such as Zoom or Skype, to interact with their
1 Stacey Decker, Holly Peele, Maya Riser-Kositsky, Hyon-Young Kim, and Emma Patti Harris, “The Coronavirus Spring: The
Historic Closing of U.S. Schools,” Education Week, July 1, 2020, https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/the-coronavirus-
spring-the-historic-closing-of.html.
2 “The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions (National Center for Education Statistics),”
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the US Department of Education, accessed December 3, 2020,
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=64.
3 Perry Stein and Valerie Strauss, “Special education students are not just falling behind in the pandemic — they’re losing key skills,
parents say,” Washington Post, August 7, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/special-education-students-are-
not-just-falling-behind--theyre-losing-key-skills-parents-say/2020/08/05/ec1b91ca-cffd-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html.
4 Jackie Mader, “Schedules for distance learning are all over the place (and it’s making parents crazy),” The Hechinger Report, last
modified August 19, 2020, https://hechingerreport.org/schedules-for-distance-learning-are-all-over-the-place-and-its-making-
parents-crazy/.
Renée Nikolov is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University studying Interna-
tional Relations and Politics as well as Behavioral Economics. During the
Fall 2020 Washington Semester Program, she interned with Voice of Amer-
ica’s social media team. She is a member of the Student Advisory Com-
mittee in the Institute for Politics and Strategy and participates in many
advocacy organizations on campus, including CMU Able.
8
Addressing Learning Disabilities in Remote Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic
peers and teachers.5 Teachers mainly post assignments online and provide feedback on student
work through virtual portals, such as Schoology.6 Thus, young children in public education most
often engage in remote learning on a computer. Many students, especially young children, are
struggling to stay engaged with learning through a computer screen, while teachers experience
a load of responsibilities and stress to adapt to teaching their students at a distance.7
In-Person Accommodations for Students with Learning Disabilities
Students with learning disabilities who require accommodations in public schooling
usually have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for a child’s “special education
experience” or a tailored 504 Plan that outlines how a child’s disability will be supported in
a general classroom setting.8 Common accommodations include extra time on tests and
assignments, reduction of distractions in the classroom, and breaks during classroom activities.9
Some 504 Plans or IEPs require a student to have an in-class aide to provide personalized
attention and to help the student in strengthening specific skills, such as time management.
Most IEPs include “related services” – e.g. social skills support groups, speech-language therapy,
or occupational therapy – to supplement a child’s special education plan.10
By federal law, public schools must provide adequate educational support to all
enrolled children with learning disabilities by meeting the demands of the child’s IEP or 504
Plan. Noncompliance with an IEP or 504 Plan may lead to termination of financial aid to the
offending school or a Department of Justice investigation.11 Unless schools are completely
closed, the COVID-19 pandemic has not excused schools from meeting the accommodations in
students’ IEPs and 504 Plans in a remote setting, per the US Department of Education.12
How Schools Have Been Accommodating Students Remotely
While some accommodations – like extended time on assignments and tests – easily
transfer to a remote classroom environment, implementing accommodations that traditionally
require in-person interaction in remote learning has been a considerable challenge for teachers
5 The Albert Team, “What is Remote Learning? What You Need to Know,” The Albert Blog (blog), Albert, November 24, 2020,
https://www.albert.io/blog/what-is-remote-learning/.
6 Greenwich Public Schools, “Student Portals,” last accessed December 3, 2020, https://www.greenwichschools.org/departments/
information-technology/student-portals.
7 Sarah Schwartz, “Survey: Teachers and Students Are Struggling With Online Learning,” Education Week, November 16, 2020,
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/survey-teachers-and-students-are-struggling-with-online-learning/2020/11.
8 The Understood Team, “The difference between IEPs and 504 plans,” Understood, last accessed December 3, 2020, https://www.
understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/504-plan/the-difference-between-ieps-and-504-plans.
9 Eve Kessler, “Examples of Accommodations & Modifications,” Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, last accessed December 3,
2020, https://www.smartkidswithld.org/getting-help/the-abcs-of-ieps/examples-of-accommodations-modifications/.
10 Amanda Morin, “Related Services for Kids Who Learn and Think Differently: What You Need to Know,” Understood, last ac-
cessed December 3, 2020, https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/special-education-basics/related-servic-
es-for-kids-with-learning-and-thinking-differences-what-you-need-to-know?_ul=1*zaf711*domain_userid*YW1wLVpUcVE0dHR
hTDYzMjR5OTdjOW5LcWc.
11 Office for Civil Rights, “Protecting Students With Disabilities,” US Department of Education, last modified January 10, 2020,
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html.
12 Susan Yellin, “Adjusting Your Child’s IEP or 504 Plan for Distance Learning,” ADDitude Magazine, November 9, 2020, https://
www.additudemag.com/iep-504-plan-distance-learning/.
Jackie Wu is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University studying Business Ad-
ministration and Social & Political History with a minor in Politics & Pub-
lic Policy. She is interning at the National Women’s History Museum for the
2020-21 academic year. On campus, she writes for the Life at Tepper blog
and has served as president of CMU Quizbowl.
9
Jackie Wu and Renée Nikolov
and school districts. For instance, an austistic student who has trouble socializing with other
students may need to attend a social support group, which is usually held in-person.13 Students
with learning disabilities that hinder fine-motor skills benefit from specialized therapy that
traditionally require one-on-one interactions held in-person. Theo Duran, an austistic eight-
year-old, made significant progress in holding a crayon and walking up stairs through in-person
therapy provided by his school.14 However, the pandemic jeopardizes this progress through the
uncertainty of whether in-person therapy can be replaced by therapy practiced remotely.
After many districts went remote due to the pandemic, special education teachers had
to rapidly make many changes to prepare students with learning disabilities for online learning.15
Miriam Wertheimer, program administrator of Carnegie Mellon University’s Leonard Gelfand
Center for Service Learning and Outreach and relative of a 3rd-4th grade special education
teacher, explained to us that some special education teachers “work[ed] overtime to support
teachers who have students with IEPs in their classes” by sitting with those students in one-
on-one video chats, meeting with teachers and students virtually, and developing adaptations
like typing up and reviewing class notes with students.16 Thus, eventually most educators made
efforts to deliver previously in-person related services virtually.
Problems with Remote Learning
Our interviews with child education specialists reveal that getting engaged in a remote
style of learning is the biggest struggle for young students, but the struggle is bigger for students
with learning disabilities. Pamela Piskurich, program director of CMU’s Gelfand Center, told us
all students face challenges staying focused and involved in their remote learning.17 The Gelfand
Center’s assistant director, Kristin Lavery, agreed. She also told us, “Teachers are already spread
thin, and teaching during the pandemic further exacerbates things.” Prior to March 2020, few
had experience teaching via tools like Zoom, and teachers needed to learn and adapt quickly.
Lavery added that most students are probably struggling to remain interested in a screen all
day long for both synchronous and asynchronous remote learning, and this issue is affecting
those with disabilities even more. Additionally, remote learning directions may not be clear,
and students may find difficulty in speaking up. Lavery worried that children who do not
comprehend instructions may not know who, how, or when to ask for help.18
Piskurich imagined that parents would need to assist and seek support for their child
more so than before. However, especially for younger children, parents and teachers alike
cannot assume students can express their difficulty or have the ability to assess their learning.
Moreover, working parents may not have enough time to participate fully in their child’s day-
to-day learning. Even if they are at home, they may be too busy with their jobs to keep an eye
on their child’s classroom experience. If they are essential workers, it may be near impossible to
stay so involved in everyday learning on top of the existing difficulty of arranging childcare on
short notice.
The added responsibility placed on parents also magnifies a particular class issue.
Students who come from low-income families are overrepresented in special education, and
13 Amanda Morin, “Related Services for Kids Who Learn and Think Differently: What You Need to Know.”
14 Perry Stein and Valerie Strauss, “Special education students are not just falling behind in the pandemic — they’re losing key skills,
parents say.”
15 Andy Steiner, “For some students with learning disabilities, distance learning has been a disappointment,” MinnPost, June 5,
2020, https://www.minnpost.com/education/2020/06/for-some-students-with-learning-disabilities-distance-learning-has-been-a-
disappointment/.
16 Miriam E. Wertheimer, interview with the authors, December 2, 2020.
17 Pamela Piskurich, interview with the authors, December 2, 2020.
18 Kristin Lavery, interview with the authors, December 2, 2020.
10Addressing Learning Disabilities in Remote Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic
they may not have devices or internet access to get remote learning resources in the first place.19
Low-income parents may be frontline workers unable to stay home during the pandemic;
while frontline workers are a varied group, they generally receive lower wages and come
disproportionately from socio-economically disadvantaged groups.20 If their parents are not
physically home to help out during class, students with learning disabilities may not be able to
focus or work on tasks given. These disabled students from low-income families are at risk of
falling behind their peers without the proper technological resources and parental involvement.
Educational Access Lawsuits
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates a “free and
appropriate public school education” for children and youth ages three to twenty-one with
disabilities. The question is whether schools and school districts are doing the best they can with
limited information to provide a safe and equally
accessible education to students with disabilities
in an unprecedented time, or if they are cutting “The question is whether
corners. The case of Alexander Campbell, a schools and school districts
14-year-old with autism, may suggest the latter. are doing the best they can
His parents received a letter from his high school
in Virginia asking to amend his Individualized with limited information to
Education Plan to suspend certain services. provide a safe and equally
They refused to sign. According to Alexander, accessible education to
“we should be reasonable with schools saying,
you know, that they can’t provide every students with disabilities in an
accommodation,” but even with remote learning, unprecedented time, or if they
his parents want him to be able to learn with as are cutting corners.”
many necessary accommodations as possible.21
Families have turned to the courts to
challenge the access to education their children with disabilities are receiving. In Hawaii, Vanessa
Ince and her husband have filed a lawsuit to get the state’s Department of Education to pay for
services their 10-year-old daughter Alexis needs in a facility where she can see and interact
with other children, an integral component of her well-being. Their attorney, Keith Peck, has
also filed a suit seeking class action status on behalf of families in Hawaii who believe the state
has breached their students’ Individualized Education Plans.⁴ Though Hawaii’s statewide school
district makes it easier to join complaints, lawsuits are also taking place elsewhere across the
country. In July 2020, over twenty plaintiffs filed a suit in New York City seeking national class
action status (the case was later dismissed).22
Rulings on the individual suits related to special education during the pandemic have
been varied. Some, like L.V. v. New York City Department of Education, have been successful for
families of children with disabilities. In this case, a district was ordered to provide in-person
applied behavior analysis therapy and other services to a five-year-old with autism. In Chicago
Teachers Union v. DeVos, an Illinois district was allowed to mandate that staff create remote
learning plans for students with IEPs and Section 504 plans by the end of the school year, even
19 Grace Tatter, “Low-Income Students and a Special Education Mismatch,” Usable Knowledge, February 21, 2019, https://www.gse.
harvard.edu/news/uk/19/02/low-income-students-and-special-education-mismatch.
20 Francine D. Blau et al., “Essential and Frontline Workers in the COVID-19 Crisis,” Econofact, September 15, 2020, https://econo-
fact.org/essential-and-frontline-workers-in-the-covid-19-crisis.
21 Anya Kamenetz, “Families Of Children With Special Needs Are Suing In Several States. Here’s Why.,” NPR (NPR, July 23, 2020),
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/23/893450709/families-of-children-with-special-needs-are-suing-in-several-states-heres-why.
22 J.T. et al v. Bill de Blasio, 20 C.V. 5878, J. Pecorino (S.D. New York 2020).
11Jackie Wu and Renée Nikolov
though the teachers union felt the hurried timeline was near impossible.23
In other cases, families have been denied access to the resources they seek. In a case
in Guam, five students with disabilities sought a preliminary injunction requiring the Guam
Education Department to implement their IEP services during state-mandated school closures.
However, the district court ruled that the students “failed to establish that they would suffer
irreparable harm” without an injunctive order.24
Conclusion
In transitioning from in-person learning “Online classes and
to remote learning, many students with learning [Individualized Education
disabilities have struggled to retain the same quality Plan]-related services
of accommodations that they received prior to the
pandemic. Online classes and IEP-related services delivered virtually are
delivered virtually are not comparable to pre-COVID not comparable to pre-
accommodations, where students were able to interact COVID accommodations,
with special education staff in person and easily ask
for help. where students were able
to interact with special
The virtual format of accommodations has made education staff in person
students increasingly reliant on their parents to
help them focus on their classes. Parents are not and easily ask for help.”
professionals in providing special education services,
and they have other responsibilities that take time
away from giving extra educational support to their children with learning disabilities. As
demonstrated in cases of lawsuits against school administrators and teachers, parents are using
the judicial system to fight for their children’s learning accommodations. However, the success
of these lawsuits is mixed. Regardless, teachers, school administrators, and parents need to
coordinate on finding acceptable accommodations for students with learning disabilities trying
to learn during a pandemic.
23 DA, “Ruling Roundup: Special Education during the Pandemic,” District Administration, September 1, 2020, https://districtad-
ministration.com/ruling-roundup-special-education-during-the-pandemic/.
24 “Content Details: J.C., Et Al. v. Jon Fernandez,” govinfo, accessed December 3, 2020, https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/
USCOURTS-gud-1_20-cv-00024.
12COVID-19 in US Prisons and Jails: A Public Health Emergency
C AT H E R I N E TA I P E A N D DY L A N P O L L A K
C ontrolling the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic inside prisons and jails in the United
States poses special challenges, particularly given numerous financial and political
constraints as well as complex variation in policies and laws regarding prisons across states.1
Despite the myriad state and local responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, many states have
not adequately adopted measures needed to maintain the health, welfare, and psychological
wellbeing of imprisoned people amidst the pandemic that has ravaged prison environments.
In this article, we illustrate the ongoing public health emergency in the US prison system by
assessing the efficacy of the coronavirus response in two states that rank first and seventh in
state prison populations, Texas and Pennsylvania.2 We chose these two states as case studies
based on the availability of updated research as well as our access to local interview candidates.
Nonetheless, all fifty states have faced similar issues addressing COVID-19 in prisons and jails.3
Background
COVID-19 has caused a public health emergency in prisons and jails in the United
States, the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world. With 2.3 million people
behind bars as of March 2020 and 200,000 people flowing in and out of local jails each week,
the COVID-19 pandemic has struck US jails and prisons particularly hard.4 Some 275,000 US
inmates caught the coronavirus by the end of 2020.5 Confirmed test cases in US prisons are 3.7
times the national average, with twelve out of every 100 prisoners infected with or recovering
1 In this paper, the term prisons refer to facilities under state or federal jurisdiction where convicted people typically serve longer
sentences, while jails refer to facilities under the jurisdiction of a city, local district, or county where those newly-arrested or await-
ing a trial remain, typically for a short period of time. “FAQ: What Is the Difference Between Jail and Prison?” Prison Fellowship,
accessed December 3, 2020. https://www.prisonfellowship.org/resources/training-resources/in-prison/faq-jail-prison/.
2 “Prison Populations by State 2020,” World Population Review, accessed January 13, 2021, https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-
rankings/prison-population-by-state.
3 Emily Widra and Dylan Hayre, Failing Grades: States’ Responses to COVID-19 in Jails & Prisons (American Civil Liberties Union
Smart Justice and Prison Policy Initiative, 2020).
4 Wendy Sawyer and Peter Wagner, “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020,” Prison Policy Initiative, March 24, 2020. https://www.
prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2020.html. “A State-by-State Look at Coronavirus in Prisons,” The Marshall Project, modified May 1,
2020, https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/01/a-state-by-state-look-at-coronavirus-in-prisons.
5 Madeline Carlisle and Josiah Bates, “With over 275,000 infections and 1,700 deaths. COVID-19 has devastated the U.S. prison and
jail population,” Time, updated December 28, 2020, https://time.com/5924211/coronavirus-outbreaks-prisons-jails-vaccines/.
Dylan Pollak is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University studying Interna-
tional Relations and Politics with minors in Cybersecurity and Internation-
al Conflict as well as Global Systems and Management. During her time in
D.C. last semester, Dylan interned with the public relations firm kglobal.
She is the Co-Vice President of Public Relations for CMU Engineers with-
out Borders and sits on the board of SPIRIT Buggy. She has interests in
organizational behavior and informational technology.
Catherine Taipe is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University studying Inter-
national Relations and Politics with a double major in Social and Politi-
cal History. During her time in Washington, DC last semester, Catherine
interned at Win Without War, a non-profit focused on advocating for pro-
gressive US foreign policy. On campus, she writes for the student newspaper
and for a newsletter that uplifts diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Diet-
rich community called The Garden.
13Catherine Taipe and Dylan Pollak
from COVID-19 compared to only three in 100 US citizens.6 Over 18 percent of the US state
and federal prison population is in the more vulnerable 55 years or older age group.7
Prisons and jails across the country had less than ideal conditions even before the
pandemic. Typically overcrowded facilities that allow minimal social distancing and have
varying, but mostly unsatisfactory, access to hygiene products and healthcare make the spread
of COVID-19 all the more dangerous.8 Proximity in closed rooms without social distancing
only catalyzes the effects of COVID-19 per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.9
The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, passed by Congress in April
2020, allocated $100 million in emergency funding and expanded home confinement for federal
prisons, while state and local systems were granted $850 million in emergency funding with
little guidance of what to do with it.10 It is unclear how much of this has gone to prisons.
The lockdown procedures put in place at many state and local prisons themselves may
also exacerbate serious mental health challenges for prison populations. Since the onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic, incarcerated people have reported a sharp decrease in basic social
interaction such as having phone calls, visitors, and time to spend outdoors.11 Isolation, either in
the form of solitary confinement or spending twenty-three hours a day in a holding cell, has also
proven to be a particularly harmful tactic to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.12 A reported
300,000 people have been sent to solitary confinement since the beginning of the pandemic,
which represents a 500 percent increase compared to previous levels of solitary confinement
usage.13 Solitary confinement and scarcity of social support is known to lead to higher rates of
self-harm, suicide, and depression in prison.14 Any increase in solitary confinement therefore
exacerbates serious negative non-COVID health problems.15 It is imperative to maintain a
consistent schedule of out of cell time in jails to better ensure the mental health of prisoners.
Solitary confinement may be a cure worse than COVID-19.
To highlight these challenges in more detail, we now present two case studies.
Case Study One: Pennsylvania
Many of Pennsylvania’s correctional facilities were overcrowded prior to the pandemic.
Pennsylvania’s total correctional facilities population in January 2020 was 44,951 and eleven
out of twenty-three of the facilities exceeded their operational bed capacity.16 This only made
controlling the spread of COVID-19 more difficult inside the state’s prisons.
In 2020, progress was made reducing overcrowding of state prisons. By December
6 Kevin T. Schnepel, “COVID-19 in U.S. State and Federal Prisons,” (December 2020).
7 Federal Bureau of Prisons, “Inmate Age,” January 9, 2021, https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_age.jsp.
8 “Overcrowding and other threats to health and safety,” ACLU, accessed January 14, 2021, https://www.aclu.org/issues/prisoners-
rights/cruel-inhuman-and-degrading-conditions/overcrowding-and-other-threats-health.
9 “Personal and Social Activities,” CDC, updated January 6, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/
personal-social-activities.html.
10 “How will the CARES Act impact prisons and jails?” Prison Fellowship, April 14, 2020. https://www.prisonfellowship.
org/2020/04/how-will-the-cares-act-impact-prisons-and-jails/.
11 Samantha Melamed, “Lawsuit over Philly jails’ pandemic response alleges grim conditions, 24-hour lockdowns,” The Philadelphia
Inquirer, updated September 1, 2020, accessed December 3, 2020, https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-asd-mod-3-rcf-
prisons-jails-coronavirus-covid-19-social-distancing-aclu-20200901.html.
12 Samantha Melamed, “Pa. prisons face a deadly ‘full-blown resurgence’ of COVID-19,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, posted Novem-
ber 12, 2020, accessed December 3, 2020, https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-prison-outbreak-coronavirus-
pandemic-cases-20201112.html.
13 Joan Stephenson, “COVID-19 Pandemic Poses Challenge for Jails and Prisons”, JAMA Health Forum (blog), JAMA Network
updated April 7, 2020, https://jamanetwork.com/channels/health-forum/fullarticle/2764370.
14 Thomas Hewson, Andrew Shepherd, Jake Hard, and Jennifer Shaw. “Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of
Prisoners.” The Lancet. Psychiatry 7, no. 7 (July 2020): 568–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30241-8.
15 Solitary Confinement Is Never the Answer, (Unlock the Box, Solitary Watch, and The Raben Group, 2020).
16 “Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Monthly Population Report as of December 31, 2020,” Pennsylvania Department of
Corrections, updated December 31, 2020, https://www.cor.pa.gov/About%20Us/Statistics/Documents/Monthly%20Population%20
Reports/Mtpop2012.pdf
14COVID-19 in US Prisons and Jails: A Public Health Emergency
2020, the total prison population decreased by around six thousand to 38,634 and only one
facility exceeded their operational bed capacity.17 On April 10, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor
Wolf ordered the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) to create a Temporary
Program to Reprieve Sentences of Incarceration with the intention of leaving fewer inmates at
risk of contracting COVID-19 by reducing the non-violent prison population.18 Although 1,500
to 1,800 inmates were eligible under this program, only 160 inmates were released through this
program from April to June 2020.19 However, the DOC created their own programs to decrease
the prison population in the state system, such as expediting parole release, prioritizing inmates
who have already completed their minimum sentences, and having quicker parole hearings.20
Some Pennsylvanian counties have taken similar actions to reduce jail populations in
order to curtail COVID-19 spread. Jails in Bucks and Northumberland counties, for example,
reduced their inmate population by 30 percent after district attorneys identified inmates who could
be temporarily released or placed in supervised
total confinement.21 The factors considered for “It is imperative to maintain
early release included crimes committed (only
non-violent offenders were considered), the a consistent schedule of
prisoner’s health condition, the length of time until out of cell time in jails to
release, and whether the inmates were suitable for better ensure the mental
home supervision.22 As of April 15, 2020, the Bucks
County Correctional Facility population was down health of prisoners. Solitary
to 534 inmates compared to 711 on March 11, and confinement may be a cure
the Community Corrections Center lowered their worse than COVID-19.”
population to 125 from 190 in March.23
Tracking the number of inmates in
Pennsylvania with COVID-19 has proven challenging. Joshua Alvarez, the former Prison
Monitoring Director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, explained to us the significance of data
transparency in reporting inmate COVID-19 cases, especially at the county level since “county
jails are more transitory than state facilities, meaning more guards and people come in and out of
the county jails.”24 The Pennsylvania Prison Society wanted to produce a COVID-19 dashboard
for the sixty-five Pennsylvanian county jails.25 After being stonewalled in talks with the DOC
and the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Prison Society started collecting COVID-19
data in county jails themselves through information obtained from media clippings, their
volunteers, and county prison official statements. This resulted in the creation of a Pennsylvania
Prison Society COVID-19 dashboard presenting the current infections in county jails.
17 “County Prison Contact Info,” Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, accessed December 9, 2020, https://www.cor.pa.gov:443/
Facilities/CountyPrisons/Pages/County-Prison-Contact-Info.aspx.
18 “Department of Corrections to Establish Temporary Program to Reprieve Sentences of Incarceration,” April 10, 2020. Governor
Tom Wolf. https://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/gov-wolf-department-of-corrections-to-establish-temporary-program-to-
reprieve-sentences-of-incarceration/
19 “County Prison Contact Info,” Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, accessed December 9, 2020. https://www.cor.pa.gov:443/
Facilities/CountyPrisons/Pages/County-Prison-Contact-Info.aspx.
20 “DOC/PBPP Dashboard,” Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, updated January 14, 2021, http://jointmetrics.cor.pa.gov/#/
index/main.
21 “Certain Inmates Released From Jails Amid COVID-19 Outbreak,” April 15, 2020. Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
https://bucks.crimewatchpa.com/da/29567/post/certain-inmates-released-jails-amid-covid-19-outbreak
22 Kara Seymour, “250 Prisoners Released From Bucks Co. Jails Due To Coronavirus,” Patch, updated April 15, 2020, accessed
December 3, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/doylestown/250-prisoners-released-bucks-co-jails-due-coronavirus.
23 Peg Quann, “Bucks Cuts Prison Population as 20 Prisoners, Employees Have Coronavirus,” Ellwood City Ledger. Accessed
December 9, 2020. https://www.ellwoodcityledger.com/news/20200415/bucks-cuts-prison-population-as-20-prisoners-employees-
have-coronavirus.
24 Joshua Alvarez (former prison monitoring director, Pennsylvania Prison Society) in discussion with the authors, December 2020.
25 “County Prison Contact Info,” Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, accessed December 9, 2020. https://www.cor.pa.gov:443/
Facilities/CountyPrisons/Pages/County-Prison-Contact-Info.aspx.
15Catherine Taipe and Dylan Pollak
Data reported on the DOC dashboard may undercount COVID infections insofar as
staff are only tested upon request and the criteria for testing of inmates is contingent on many
factors, including whether inmates are to be released, transferred between facilities, have a
medical appointment, need contact tracing, or are symptomatic.26 The most significant portion
of testing comes from inmates being transferred between facilities (27 percent). By contrast,
hospital transfers and presenting COVID symptoms account for only 3 percent of testing. Yet
most positive test results in prisons are due to surveillance contact tracing and symptomatic
prisoners, with the latter accounting for 31 percent of all positive tests. Were symptomatic and
asymptomatic testing even more common, the rate of positivity would likely be even higher.
While the DOC contends that they are following the CDC guidelines, a recent CDC report
emphasizes that both symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers can transmit COVID-19.27
Therefore, we recommend statewide testing for all inmates and employees at regular intervals.
Prisoners in Philadelphia report that strict lockdown guidelines are still in place nine
months into the pandemic.28 Philadelphia jails have been closely monitored since June due to
a pending settlement between the city and ten prisoners represented by civil rights lawyers.
The lawyers came to an agreement with the jail granting the prisoners forty-five minutes of
out of cell time, but whether that is occurring is disputed. Meanwhile, a recent outbreak in a
Philadelphia prison led to another lock down with no attorney visits, limited email, and only
thirty minutes out-of-cell time three days a week to take showers or make phone calls.29
Case Study Two: Texas
Texas, which has an above average incarceration rate at 891 per 100,000 people,30 has
had more COVID infections of incarcerated people than any other prison system, with at least
231 deaths as of November 2020.31 The severity of this situation is a result in part of issues in
overcrowding, timing and implementation of testing policy, and hygiene product accessibility.
Many local jails in Texas are overcrowded. In Bee County, delayed trials and required
quarantine periods exacerbated overcrowding with hundreds of prisoners beyond normal
peaks.32 Meanwhile, over two thousand people enter and leave local jails per week in Harris
County, the home of Houston.33 The revolving door of jails puts those awaiting their trial and
the families of those released in danger of contracting COVID-19. To alleviate these problems,
San Marcos county is part of a growing initiative in Texas to implement cite-and-release laws for
county police. Since the motion was passed in April 2020, El Paso and Dallas have followed suit
in compelling police to avoid arrests as much as possible, particularly for low-level, nonviolent
crimes.34 In our conversation with San Marcos City Councilman Maxfield Baker, he shared
26 “Pennsylvania Department of Corrections COVID-19 Dashboard,” Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, updated January
15, 2021, https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiNWQ5YTQ4ZWUtY2NjMi00ZWRhLTgyNWQtYzAzNzc5NmYwMGIyIiwidCI
6IjQxOGUyODQxLTAxMjgtNGRkNS05YjZjLTQ3ZmM1YTlhMWJkZSJ9.
27 Nathan W. Furukawa, John T. Brooks, and Jeremy Sobel, “Evidence Supporting Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syn-
drome Coronavirus 2 While Presymptomatic or Asymptomatic.” Emerging Infectious Disease Journal 26, no. 7 (July 2020). https://
doi.org/10.3201/eid2607.201595.W
28 Melamed, “Lawsuit over Philly Jails’ Pandemic Response Alleges Grim Conditions, 24-Hour Lockdowns.”
29 Max Marin, “Coronavirus outbreak at Philly federal prison in Center City leads to full lockdown,” Billy Penn, November 20, 2020,
https://billypenn.com/2020/11/20/coronavirus-outbreak-at-philly-federal-prison-in-center-city-leads-to-full-lockdown/.
30 “Texas Profile,” Prison Policy Initiative, accessed December 3, 2020, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/TX.html.
31 Michele Deitch, Alycia Welch, William Bucknall, and Destiny Moreno, “COVID and Corrections: A Profile
of COVID Deaths in Custody in Texas,” Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs (November 2020), https://repositories.lib.utexas.
edu/bitstream/handle/2152/83635/Profile%20of%20COVID%20deaths%20in%20custody.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y.
32 Blake Holland, “County Jails Faced with Overcrowding Problem Due to Effects of Pandemic,” KLTV, September 22, 2020, https://
www.kltv.com/2020/09/22/county-jails-faced-with-overcrowding-problem-due-effects-pandemic/.
33 “A State-by-State Look at Coronavirus in Prisons,” The Marshall Project, modified May 1, 2020, https://www.themarshallproject.
org/2020/05/01/a-state-by-state-look-at-coronavirus-in-prisons.
34 Katie Hall, “San Marcos Becomes 1st Texas City to OK Cite-and-Release Law,” Austin American-Statesman, April 23, 2020,
https://www.statesman.com/news/20200422/san-marcos-becomes-1st-texas-city-to-ok-cite-and-release-law
16COVID-19 in US Prisons and Jails: A Public Health Emergency
the important role this ordinance plays in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in jails. “While
San Marcos has passed our cite and release ordinance, we still need to build it into our [police
department’s] culture,” Baker shared. “For that, we’ve started a Use of Force community driven
task force that will provide recommendations to our City Council.”35
The lack of funding (and delegation) from state and federal governments to jails and
prisons often hinders the fight against COVID-19. In April 2020, Texas Governor Abbott
received and allocated emergency federal funds for COVID-19 relief to local governments. These
funds could be spent on “medical care for inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19”, but
it is unclear how much was actually spent for this purpose.36 Councilman Baker shared his
sentiments about the issue of funding in effectively protecting vulnerable incarcerated people
from the spread of the virus. “[The state government and San Marcos] have been slow to act and
it is costing people their lives. It is clear that the Governor could allow [us] more local control,
and that we need to address the systemic issues that unnecessarily jail people for extended
periods of time,” he said. “Our budget is pretty tight because we rely so heavily on sales tax.”37
Many prisons in the state have proven unable to implement effective protocols on time,
as seen in facilities like the Wynne Unit in Huntsville. In June 2020, this facility reported some
of the highest rates of COVID-19 deaths. There were
reports of isolating sick inmates with healthy ones in “Prisoners cannot escape
the same cell, as well as clearly symptomatic inmates
being denied testing. Despite incarcerated persons’ the virus in their confined
experience, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice cells. While serving time for
(TDCJ) has implemented policy and guidelines since their crimes, no prisoner
April that have been applauded by many advocates:
in April, TDCJ stopped accepting new inmates from should be sentenced to a
county jails and issued cloth masks to all imprisoned COVID-19 death.”
people and facility staff. Additionally, prison
officials started to isolate the sick, educate inmates
on protecting themselves from the virus, and begin extensive contact tracing. These decisions,
however, came too late for the inmates in Wynne Unit. The TDCJ has reported at least ten
COVID-related deaths from Wynne, including one prison officer. 38
Access to basic hygiene products such as soap and hand sanitizer is limited in Texas
jails and prisons. Texas is also one of five states that still have regularly unpaid jobs for inmates
despite mandatory health service fees.39 During the pandemic, a prison in El Paso County began
a two-dollar-per-hour volunteer job for several inmates to move dead bodies of coronavirus
victims.40 In October, a federal appeals court ruled that Texas does not have to provide more
hand sanitizer to inmates who use wheelchairs at a geriatric prison, due to fears that it can be
used to drink or start fires.41 With limited financial prospects in prison and limited access to
35 Maxfield Baker (Councilman, San Marcos City Council) in discussion with the authors, December 2020.
36 “Governor Abbott Announces $38 Million In Federal COVID-19 Emergency Funding For Local Governments,” April 15, 2020.
Office of the Texas Governor Greg Abbott. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-38-million-in-federal-
covid-19-emergency-funding-for-local-governments.
37 Maxfield Baker (Councilman, San Marcos City Council) in discussion with the authors, December 2020.
38 Jolie McCullough, “Inmates report dangerous practices inside the Texas prison with the most coronavirus deaths,” The Texas
Tribune, June 8, 2020, https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/08/texas-prison-coronavirus-deaths/
39 Wendy Sawyer, “The steep cost of medical co-pays in prison puts health at risk,” Briefings (blog), The Prison Policy Initiative,
updated April 19, 2017, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/04/19/copays/.
40 Louise Hall, “Texas Prisoners ‘Paid $2 an Hour to Move Bodies of Coronavirus Victims’,” The Independent, November 20,
2020, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-el-paso-prison-inmates-paid-move-coronavirus-victims-bod-
ies-b1759474.html.
41 Jolie McCullough, “Federal appeals court says Texas doesn’t have to give geriatric inmates hand sanitizer for now,” The Texas
Tribune, October 7, 2020, https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/07/texas-prisons-coronavirus-lawsuit/.
17Catherine Taipe and Dylan Pollak
hygiene products, an important lifeline in the fight against COVID-19 has been virtually cut off.
Conclusion
From our case studies of Pennsylvania and Texas, it is clear that despite best intentions
and efforts from state and local governments, the United States was greatly unprepared to
protect incarcerated people from COVID-19. Based on our case research and interviews with
professionals deeply connected to this topic, we conclude with four recommendations.
First, each state should create a centralized COVID-19 dashboard for their prison and
jail populations to promote data collection transparency and accountability.
Second, prisons and jails should adopt a mandatory testing policy for facility employees
and inmates regardless of whether they are symptomatic or asymptomatic.
Third, prisons and jails should not rely on solitary confinement as a method to mitigate
the spread of the coronavirus as it negatively impacts the mental health of inmates.
Finally, governments should tie emergency funding for prisons and jails to efforts to
mitigate COVID-19, such as improved access to hygiene products like soap and hand sanitizer
and accelerated vaccine distribution in prison systems.42
Per CDC guidelines released in late December 2020, correction officers are frontline
essential workers placed in the second group to be vaccinated.43 However, prison inmates
are not listed on the CDC website under any category to be vaccinated, which is problematic
because even if all corrections officers get vaccinated achieving herd immunity in jails and
prisons will be difficult. Massachusetts, by contrast, has included the state’s 6,500 inmates in
their initial vaccine distribution phases.44 We believe other states should follow suit. Prisoners
cannot escape the virus in their confined cells. While serving time for their crimes, no prisoner
should be sentenced to a COVID-19 death.
42 Lena H. Sun, Isaac Stanley-Becker, Frances Stead Sellers, Lauri McGinley, Amy Goldstein, Christopher Rowland, and Carloyn
Y Johnson, “Vaccines were a chance to redeem failures in the U.S. coronavirus response. What went wrong?” Washington Post,
January 11, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/covid-vaccine-slow-rollout/2021/01/11/2e804898-5100-11eb-bda4-
615aaefd0555_story.html.
43 “When Vaccine is Limited, who should get the Vaccine first?” Center for Disease Control and Prevention, updated January 8,
2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations.html.
44 Erin Tiernan, “94,000 living in Massachusetts jails, homeless shelters, group homes start getting coronavirus vaccines on Mon-
day,” Boston Herald, January 13, 2021, https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/01/13/94000-living-in-massachusetts-jails-home-
less-shelters-group-homes-start-getting-coronavirus-vaccines-on-monday/.
18The Impact of COVID-19 on the Public Sector
A R J U N R A M AC HA N D R A N A N D SI M O N L E E
T he coronavirus pandemic has changed the way the public sector in the United States
operates on a day-to-day basis. Congress moved to virtual proceedings. The press worked
overtime to keep up with the ever-increasing speed of breaking news. While there is no
doubt that these past few months have been difficult for our public officials and workers, the
pandemic has impacted the public sector at an institutional level. Although some occupations
have not been as affected, there will certainly be long-term impacts on the sector as a whole.
To study the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the public sector, we briefly look at
Congress, think tanks, and the press as case studies of the short term and long-term impact of
the coronavirus pandemic. Our case research benefitted from several expert interviews.
US Congress
Congress had to quickly modify centuries’ worth of daily in-person practices to
adapt to the new work-from-home (WFH) environment the pandemic imposed. This remote
work transition was particularly difficult for the larger of the two chambers, the US House of
Representatives. From Representatives who did not know how to operate online video calls
to undigitized work documents, there were a whole array of issues. Providing 435 members
and nearly 9,420 staffers with proper teleworking capability was a tall task. Staff layoffs were
inevitably made for offices to stay afloat. To assist with the transition, the Sergeant-At-Arms, in
coordination with the Chief Administrative Officer, established the House Telework Readiness
Center. This effort helped representatives and their staff to continue their work from home. It
offered telework training and set up a hotline for any staffers in case they needed assistance.1
The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer also ordered 1,500 computers for representative
offices while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set up a system to file bills and floor documents
electronically.2 However, with all of these coordinated efforts, it still took nearly three to four
months for the House to adapt to the new circumstances.
1 Katherine Tully-McManus, “Tech Help Offered for House Staffers Facing Potential Coronavirus Telework,” accessed December 2,
2020, https://www.rollcall.com/2020/03/10/tech-help-offered-for-house-staffers-facing-potential-coronavirus-telework/.
2 Katherine Tully-McManus, “House Moves to Electronic Filing of Bills and Floor Documents to Reduce Staffing during Pandemic
- Roll Call,” accessed December 2, 2020, https://www.rollcall.com/2020/04/06/house-moves-to-electronic-filing-of-bills-and-floor-
documents-to-reduce-staffing-during-pandemic/.
Simon Lee is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University majoring in Inter-
national Relations and Politics with minors in Cybersecurity & Interna-
tional Conflict and Technical Writing. Simon interned at kglobal, a public
affairs firm, in Washington, DC last fall and is currently a Government
Relations Intern at NVG, LLC. Simon is also a competitive dancer on the
CMU Bhangra team and is a journal writer for CMU’s The Triple Helix.
Arjun Ramachandran is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University studying
International Relations and Politics with minors in Cybersecurity & Inter-
national Conflict and Music Technology. He has been a project assistant in
the CIRP Research Lab, a research assistant for Dr. Colin Clarke, and an
intern at Voice of America for the “Plugged In” TV show with Greta Van
Susteren. Arjun is also a musician and staff editor for CMU’s The Triple
Helix. After graduation, Arjun aims to attend law school.
19Arjun Ramachandran and Simon Lee
With fewer members and offices than the House, the Senate had a much smoother
transition. In a virtual interview with a staffer on the Senate Committee on Rules and
Administration, Vincent Brown explained how the initial transition included a lot of logistical
work, ensuring each member had access to the appropriate software and technology needed to
work from home.3 The Rules committee headed this effort, in consultation with the Sergeant-
At-Arms, to ensure that the technology was certified and secure for use. While Congress quickly
dealt with the technical aspect of the transition, the pandemic still deprived both chambers of
the legislature of a crucial aspect: in-person interaction.
Capitol Hill is a team-oriented work environment. However, the pandemic forced
many staffers to re-evaluate how they communicated with people. Brown stated that “working
in close proximity to other offices and staffers was very beneficial to nailing down the salient
details in memos, documents, letters, etc.” Working from home inhibited this organic process
that happens on the Hill nearly every day. From having run-in meetings to discussing bills over
lunch, the pandemic forced staffers to resort to the rather tedious process of setting up meetings
and calls in advance. Although the WFH environment provides more clarity in scheduling and
structuring one’s day, it is still not comparable to the benefits of a close-knit environment.
A 2019 American Political Science Association Task Force argued that three
“fundamental” problems inhibit Congress’s ability to operate effectively: the external pacing
problem, inter-branch pacing problem, and internal pacing problem.4 The external pacing
problem describes how Congress has fallen behind the curve in “keeping up with technological
advances.” The inter-branch pacing problem describes the inability of the legislative branch to
“maintain capacity to operate as a co-equal branch” with the executive. Finally, the internal
pacing problem shows the lag in Congress to “incorporate new technology” into its practices.
In the end, APSA concluded that although there were apparent technical disadvantages in
Congress, most issues were actually “cultural or organizational.”5 Now, there is no doubt that
in-person legislating is far more effective but under the conditions imposed by the pandemic,
Congress was able to follow through on a long-needed reevaluation of their practices.
State Legislatures
From handling unemployment claims to enforcing lockdown, state legislatures across
the country had their hands full with one crisis after another amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
The Illinois state legislature, for example, had a challenging time transitioning to a virtual
format. Resulting from dated state law, the General Assembly Organization Act states that
“sessions of the General Assembly shall be held at the seat of government” while giving the
governor the power to “convene the General Assembly at some other place...in case of pestilence
or public danger.” Despite having a power trifecta in Illinois (with one party controlling the
governorship and both houses of the state legislature), Governor Jay Robert Pritzker chose not
to dictate where and when the general assembly met at the risk of blowback from legislators.6
This significantly impacted the House chamber of Illinois’ state legislature, according to
Representative Stephanie Kifowit. “Many bills were filed that never came to a vote,” said Rep.
3 Vincent Brown, In discussion with Arjun Ramachandran and Simon Lee, November 23, 2020.
4 Claire Abernathy, Kevin Esterling, and Marci Harris, “APSA Task Force Memorandum: Congress, Technology, and Innovation,”
LegBranch, October 2, 2019, https://www.legbranch.org/apsa-task-force-memorandum-congress-technology-and-innovation/.
5 Claire Abernathy, Kevin Esterling, and Marci Harris, “Congressional Modernization Jump-Started by COVID-19,” Brookings
(blog), June 18, 2020, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2020/06/18/congressional-modernization-jump-started-by-cov-
id-19/.
6 David Greising, “Commentary: Zoom-Zoom, Illinois — Legislative Deadlines Call for a Virtual General Assembly Meeting,”
chicagotribune.com, accessed December 2, 2020, https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-coronavirus-
pritzker-springfield-general-assembly-greising-20200430-4bb4lxsglvfa7dk4wmla6z77uu-story.html.
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