We sent our Members of Congress an open letter with our demands for the CARES-2 Act.
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed many public health and economic vulnerabilities in America, and the stimulus bills passed by Congress in response to the emergency have been insufficient at best. We are continuing to fight for an equitable emergency stimulus bill that helps regular Americans, instead of just bailing out corporations. The previous CARES bill and the interim legislation passed last week did little but shift wealth from the poor to the rich. If this is all the stimulus legislation we get, it will have a profoundly negative effect, which we discuss in our blog post on the bills. We have to push our Members of Congress to pass legislation for everyone, not just for the rich.
We sent an open letter to our Members of Congress with our demands for the next bill, with over 80 signatures from Indivisible SF members. The letter is below.
House of Representatives preface
With the pandemic still unchecked, the death-count rising, and the economy in free fall for everyone but the very wealthy and the politically well-connected, it is crucial that Congress promply enact new, comprehensive, emergency legislation to bolster testing, treatment, research & prevention, aid hospitals & healthcare workers, and provide economic relief to local governments and the 99% of our population who are not giant corporations or Republican mega-donors.
In coalition with seven other national organizations, Indivisible is calling for a "Peoples Bailout" (https://thepeoplesbailout.org/). In support of that effort, Indivisible SF submits to you the enclosed Legislative Letter as a PDF format attachment outlining the issues and provisions that must be addressed and included in the next emergency legislative package.
We strongly urge the House to enact a CARES2 emergency package that reflects Democratic Party values and priorities. And to do so before Senate Republians pass a bill favoring the wealthy and powerful. Send a Democratic bill to the Senate for consideration and let them negotiate with you based on the House bill. We understand that compromises will have to be made to get legislation through the Senate, but the starting point must be a House bill that provides relief to everyone which Republicans will then try to weaken, rather than a Senate bill that Democrats then try to strengthen.
We also renew our plea for the House to immediately adopt rules allowing remote work and voting. In a national emergency like the one we now face, continuity of government is a necessity. Congress must be able to swiftly enact legislation, establish policies, make appropriations, and provide crucial oversight of the Executive Branch. In this global pandemic, effective government is an essential service. Unlike First Responders, healthcare and other essential workers who are putting their lives on the line, Congress can use modern technology to safely work and vote remotely. Please enact rules allowing it to do so.
Senate preface
With the pandemic still unchecked, the death-count rising, and the economy in free fall for everyone but the very wealthy and the politically well-connected, it is crucial that Congress promply enact new, comprehensive, emergency legislation to bolster testing, treatment, research & prevention, aid hospitals & healthcare workers, and provide economic relief to local governments and the 99% of our population who are not giant corporations or Republican mega-donors.
In coalition with seven other national organizations, Indivisible is calling for a "Peoples Bailout" (https://thepeoplesbailout.org/). In support of that effort, Indivisible SF submits to you the enclosed Legislative Letter as a PDF format attachment outlining the issues and provisions that must be addressed and included in the next emergency legislative package.
We strongly urge you to fight for and defend these provisions in any Senate emergency bill and in negotiations with the House.
We also urge you to enact rules allowing the Senate to work and vote remotely. In a national emergency like the one we now face, continuity of government is a necessity. Congress must be able to swiftly enact legislation, establish policies, make appropriations, and provide crucial oversight of the Executive Branch. In this global pandemic, effective government is an essential service. Unlike First Responders, healthcare and other essential workers who are putting their lives on the line, Congress can use modern technology to safely work and vote remotely. Please enact rules allowing it to do so.
Letter to our Members of CongressFrom Indivisible SFLegislation & Policy for the Next Emergency-Relief Bill (CARES 2)
We need fair & effective emergency legislation now!
Indivisible SF (ISF) urges you to adopt these basic principles, when drafting the next emergency bill in response to the health/economic crisis:
Well-Up, not Trickle-Down. Financial aid must flow to people who have lost their jobs, are homeless, or who are following public-health guidelines to stay at home rather than continuing to work at a nonessential job.
Equal Treatment. All emergency-related provisions and benefits must be made equally available to all people residing in the U.S. and its territories, regardless of race, gender, immigration-status, lifestyle, religious beliefs, or residence in territories rather than states.
Insist on a Senate Vote. It is intolerable that Senate Majority Leader McConnell has been allowed to unilaterally impose one-party rule by bottling up House bills in the Senate. Democrats must stop agreeing to deals that fail to require a Senate debate and a vote on emergency legislation passed by the House – even legislation that House Republicans did not support.
In our opinion, the next bill (CARES 2) needs to contain provisions such as:
PROVISIONS for PRESERVING DEMOCRACY
Vote-by-mail. Enact the provisions of Senator Warren's plan to ensure democracy and prevent the disruption of elections due to natural disasters or infectious diseases, by requiring (among other provisions) vote-by-mail, election security and an end to gerrymandering.
State & local government. Unlike the federal government, state and local governments cannot avail themselves of deficit spending, so Washington needs to provide the funds that states and localities require to address the health emergency – including federal funding of all emergency-related state Medicaid costs, the resources need to build and staff COVID-19 facilities & treatment centers, money to hire testing & contact-tracing personnel, and funds for housing for people who need to be quarantined. Financial aid to state & local governments must not be made conditional on acceptance of White House "reopen your economy" dictates.
Preserve the U.S. Postal Service. Postal service is essential at all times and even more so during a pandemic emergency – and it is so foundational to the country that it is enumerated in the Constitution. Congress must appropriate adequate funds to stabilize and protect the U.S. Postal Service and repeal the absurd 70-year pension fund requirement that endangers it.
PANDEMIC & ECONOMIC-EMERGENCY RELIEF PROVISIONS
Emergency income. Rather than one-time checks or unemployment benefits, provide a sustained income to people who have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced due to the emergency. Fully reimburse employers for maintaining workers on payroll at their normal pay rate and for their normal hours worked, rather than laying them off or furloughing them. Fully pay employees who have been quarantined or are taking family leave. Include temp, part-time, & tipped workers. Bring back onto payroll employees who have already been terminated or laid off due to the emergency.
Benefits. People who were unemployed before the crisis (or who for some reason cannot be returned to payroll) must be provided adequate sustained benefits for the duration of the crisis through new or existing government programs, with the money to be delivered by direct deposit, EBT card, or checks.
No seizures or garnishments. Financial institutions, debt collectors, and others must be prohibited from seizing or garnishing people’s emergency financial aid.
Pensions. Provide money to maintain and stabilize employer and union pension funds that have been put at risk by the health-economic emergency.
Sick leave. As a health and virus containment measure, fully fund adequate sickness and emergency family leave for all workers (including part-time, temp, “gig” workers, and independent contractors) regardless of workers' accrued leave.
Free emergency health care. Since this is a public health emergency, all costs for COVID-19 testing, treatment, quarantine, and recuperation must be funded by the government for anyone whose health insurance does not cover such services in full.
Health insurance waivers. Temporarily waive all length-of-employment, hour-per-week, preconditions and other requirements and thresholds for obtaining employer- or government-provided health insurance.
Waive benefit requirements. Since social distancing is an essential health emergency measure, temporarily waive job-seeking requirements and eliminate waiting periods for programs and benefits. Relax eligibility and work requirements for Medicaid and food and nutrition programs like SNAP, TANF, WIC, etc.
Social Security. Allow seniors who have not reached full retirement age, but who qualify for early Social Security at a reduced rate, to temporarily draw upon those funds for the duration of the emergency, without permanently locking themselves into a reduced rate or being required to repay the withdrawn funds.
Medical equipment & supplies. Allocate federal funds and invoke the Defense Production Act, to ensure that medical equipment required to test for and treat COVID-19 infections are made available and fairly distributed as swiftly as possible. Patients should not be charged for any medical equipment or supplies that they might need for treatment once they leave the hospital.
Protect front-line responders and essential workers. Issue emergency-related OSHA health and safety standards to protect first responders and essential workers, and oversee OSHA to ensure that those standards are enforced.
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Allocate federal funds and invoke the Defense Production Act, to ensure adequate PPE is made available to all frontline responders (including support staff) and others providing essential services requiring contact with significant numbers of people or hazardous materials.
Hazard pay. Provide federally funded “hazard pay” to medical and support staff and others providing essential services that require contact with significant numbers of people or hazardous materials.
Hospitals. Since hospitals are the frontline defense against COVID-19 infections, provide federal financial resources to sustain public and nonprofit hospitals, and reopen (and keep open) rural hospitals, community health centers, and Indian Health Service facilities.
Elder care. Provide emergency economic aid to public and private nursing homes, conditional on strict health & safety standards and rigorous oversight. Immediately resume CMS oversight of nursing homes, and restore the temporarily suspended reporting requirements that nursing homes previously had to comply with. Substantially increase penalties for noncompliance with health and safety standards. Expand CMS oversight and regulation to include assisted living facilities.
Federal housing. Temporarily suspend work and community-service requirements in federal housing programs, because it is neither safe nor feasible for most people to meet those requirements at this time.
Homelessness. Since homelessness increases the spread of the virus, institute a national moratorium on all evictions, foreclosures, and repossessions. As a public health measure, suspend all utility shut-offs (water, power, garbage, internet & cell service), and require immediate restoration of services that have been cut off due to nonpayment, since March 1st. Prohibit late-payment charges.
House those already homeless. Since the homeless are unable to maintain social-distancing and are at greater risk of contracting and spreading infection, provide emergency funding to states and local governments to temporarily house the homeless in empty hotels, motels, college dormitories, convention centers, and other facilities.
Emergency social service aid. Provide funding for nonprofit social-service agencies such as food banks, homeless shelters, and senior centers, so they can support increased demand and implement better disease-fighting measures.
Student loans. Impose an immediate moratorium on repayment of all student loans, with no accrual of interest or late fees.
Remote education. Provide emergency funding to public schools to establish high-quality remote learning programs, and ensure that all students have adequate computers and Internet connectivity to access them.
FEMA & EPA. Expand funding for FEMA and the EPA, to ensure access to emergency care and clean air and water.
Corporate bailouts. No more "no-conditions" corporate bailouts. Require any corporations that get taxpayer funds to agree to conditions that apply until they pay off all government bailout funds or loans. For example:
Commitment to public benefit over shareholder value
No reductions in force or layoffs while receiving funds
Board seats for both employee and consumer representatives
No stock buy-backs or dividends to shareholders
Caps on CEO and executive pay packages
Suspension of executive “golden parachute” exit packages
Transparency and limitations on political spending
Criminal & financial penalties for executives who violate rules & regulations
EMERGENCY POLICY PROVISIONS
Restore cuts. Restore the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense (the “pandemic response team”). Restore CDC funds for preventing global disease outbreaks, the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund and the State Department's Complex Crisis Fund.
Price stabilization. Prohibit price-gouging, monitor to prevent it, and aggressively enforce violations.
Patents & licenses. Require non-exclusive patents and licenses and fair-pricing for all COVID-19 tests, vaccines, and treatments developed with the aid of government funding.
Immigration. Suspend all immigration enforcement activities in the national interior. Release those in temporary immigration detention without threat of deportation, and provide them with sufficient funds to survive.
Reporting and oversight. Require that regular, complete, and accurate reports and testimony to Congress on the emergency be made by DHS, HHS, CDC, and NIH officials, including both political appointees and senior civil service officials. Agencies that receive public funds must be required to respond promptly and completely to congressional subpoenas for testimony and documents.
Science, not politics. Require that federal policies, rules, & regulations be based on objective provable facts and peer-reviewed scientific research and that public health decisions are made by health professionals. Ensure that officials engaged in the response do not fear retribution or public disparagement for performing their jobs.
Whistleblower protection. Ensure that the jobs, seniority, pay, and assignments of government employees who report fraud, abuse, mismanagement, misappropriation, discrimination, censorship, and political interference to their agency's Inspector General or the House Whistleblower Ombudsman be protected.
For additional principles and background, see the Peoples’ Bailout a program sponsored by a dozen organizations and endorsed by close to 1,000 local groups.