Investors call on Trump, Congress to devise COVID-19 plan

The president and congressional leaders need to come up with a comprehensive federal response to the COVID-19 crisis, sustainable investors and advocates said in a letter sent Thursday to President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Forty-three investor and investor-related organizations, including Pax World Funds, Sustainalytics, Trillium Asset Management and the Jesuit Committee on Investment Responsibility, signed the letter, sent by US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.

Signers said they are "deeply concerned about a lack of a comprehensive federal response" and called for immediate action on six steps to ensure people's safety, a safe reopening of the economy, "and to lay a foundation for a more just and sustainable future."

"It is unacceptable that, more than 196,058 Americans have died, and more than 6 million have tested positive for the virus, while many other countries have had far lower mortality rates," the letter said.

Signers also noted that GDP shrunk at a 32% annual rate in the second quarter. "The American people and American businesses need to be able to rely on a solid federal framework rather than the current 50 state, multiple county and city approach that is difficult to understand, let alone comply with, for companies whose operations span the country," they said.

"We ask of the federal government the same thing we ask of the companies we invest in: provide thoughtful leadership, address urgent problems with urgency and create a long term plan for addressing COVID-19 that the American people can have confidence in," the letter concluded.