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49 Special Report | COVID-19 BRACING FOR RECESSION As stocks repeatedly plummeted in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, industry experts began looking ahead to a likely recession, and determining what lessons they can apply from past downturns. "e problem is everyone in America is cutting back their consumption," Jason Furman, who led the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration, told the Washington Post. "A lot of sectors are being hit, especially the services sector. A lot of income and spending is being reduced. at's just an enormous shock to the economy." Unlike the Great Recession, this downturn is the result of a completely external factor, meaning that it is possible this downturn will be much shorter and shallower, according to Louise Sheiner, Economic Studies Policy Director, e Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. "It is worth remembering that in the early days of the housing market downturn, many of us thought that the problems would be limited to the subprime mortgage market and wouldn't be macroeconomically important. We were very wrong," she noted. e Fed announced that over the coming months that it will increase its holdings of Treasury securities by at least $500 billion and its holdings and agency mortgage-backed securities by at least $200 billion. "e Committee expects to maintain this target range until it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals," said the Fed in a statement. Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American, said the Fed's actions should help bolster the mortgage market and keep rates low. "is echoes 2008 when the Fed's mortgage-backed securities buying spree increased demand for mortgage-backed securities at a time when investor demand was faltering. is, in turn, helped push mortgage rates down, enabling homeowners to lower monthly payments and encouraging investment in housing," she said. REP. TULSI GABBARD INTRODUCES PLAN FOR UNIVERSAL PAYMENT Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) introduced H.R. 897 to the House Ways and Means Committee, which provides a universal basic payment to aid Americans across the country that have been impacted by COVID-19. "e coronavirus pandemic has created a threat to the health and well-being of the American people, as well as to our country's economic stability. While some in Washington are focused on taking care of Wall Street, everyday Americans get left behind. at's wrong. Instead, we must act swiftly to provide a temporary universal basic payment of $1,000 per month to every American adult to help them weather the storm created by this crisis. Taking care of all Americans will stimulate our economy during this downturn," Gabbard said. "I've introduced a resolution that prioritizes people, so our economic relief is placed directly into the hands of every American, rather than getting stuck in bureaucracy or ending up in the pockets of big corporations." e resolution "urges" the federal government to provide an emergency nontaxable Universal Basic Payment of $1,000 per month to all adult Americans until COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency. "e Universal Basic Payment will be a temporary economic stimulus package to empower Americans directly and immediately," a release from Gabbard states.