“I wish they would put themselves — the White House and Congress and everybody else making these decisions — in the shoes of us, the normal working people, who need help due to no fault of our own. I’m asking to be able to keep my apartment. To be able to live, and not live on the street. I’m not asking to be put in a golden apartment or anything. I just want to be able to live.” — Unemployed teacher Stephanie Lott, quoted in The Washington Post

President Trump signed the long-overdue and grossly inadequate COVID-19 relief legislation that Congress passed last week.

However, some portions remained uncertain as the U.S. House of Representatives voted Monday to increase the amount of direct payment checks from $600 to $2,000, meeting President Trump’s demand.

That measure has been sent to the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate, where it is being blocked.

Perhaps recognizing the almost comic callousness of his own proposal, President Trump also took issue in the initial legislation with the inclusion in the of a tax deduction for the proverbial “three-martini” business lunch to benefit the wealthiest corporate executives.

The incoming Biden administration should consider the entire package nothing more than a down payment and must prioritize a more comprehensive stimulus package during its first 100 days.

After nearly eight months of delay, the legislation Congress passed is akin to sending in fire-fighters to clear up smoldering embers. The time for “rescue” has passed. We must now focus on rebuilding an economy that is inclusive and equitable and provides opportunity for every American.

While working-class families who have exhausted their unemployment benefits have been waiting in miles-long bread lines, the bill provides a breathtaking $1.4 billion to be is squandered on an ineffectual and pointless border wall.

While the bill provides no direct aid to states and municipalities struggling to keep police, firefighters, doctors, nurses and teachers on the payroll, it includes billions in tax deductions for the wealthiest corporations that received Paycheck Protection Loans meant for small businesses.

On the plus side, the bill does include an extension of the eviction moratorium and rent relief, along with a desperately-needed expansion of broadband internet access for K-12 students.

Also encouraging is a revival of the Paycheck Protection Program, this time without the restrictions that prevented the funding from reaching the hardest hit companies, including the Black-owned small businesses that form the backbone of our communities.

But no economic recovery is possible without a focus on bringing the virus under control, and the bill does almost nothing on that front. Black Americans remain more than four times as likely as white people to be hospitalized for COVID-19, and nearly three times as likely to die.

And without mandatory paid sick leave for essential workers, who are disproportionately Black and brown, the virus will continue to spread as infected persons are forced to report to their workplaces.

Nor does the legislation provide funding or a framework for states to deliver vaccines or educate hesitant communities on vaccine acceptance.

The HEROES Act, passed by the House in May, provides a framework for a comprehensive bill that not only supports working families and small businesses through the pandemic-induced recession, but also aims to end the pandemic itself through scaled-up testing, contact tracing and treatment.

The National Urban League intends to continue pressing Congress and the incoming Biden administration to address the gaps in this legislation.

The writer is president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League.