Tell your Members of Congress: We demand Investment in Children, Families, and Students
Call BOTH of your Senators.
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Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
I urge you to enact an effective American Jobs and Families Plan that fosters economic recovery from the pandemic and begins to seriously address equal opportunity, structural inequality, and economic justice, and pays for it by reversing the Trump regime’s tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. This essential legislation must include significant investment in children, families, and education, including:
Universal free preschool
High-quality childcare that costs families no more than 7% of their income
A minimum wage of $15/hour for childcare and home healthcare workers
Two years of free community college for all
Making four-year college more affordable for low- and middle-income students
Significantly increased support for HBCUs and Tribal Colleges
A comprehensive national paid family and medical leave program
Health, safety, and rights protections for working women, including fair and equal pay
Expanded nutrition assistance to families and healthy meals for our nation’s students
Extension of the expanded health insurance tax credits in the American Rescue Plan
Extension and expansion of the Child Tax, Earned Income Tax, and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits
Background
Coming up this week: There may (or may not) be another attempt in the Senate this week to override the Republican filibuster that so far has blocked even discussing (let alone actually passing) Manchin’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF). The BIF language is being negotiated in the Senate by a small group of the most conservative Democrats led by Manchin (D-WV) and the least Trumpite Republicans led by Collins (R-ME).
To gain enough Republican votes to override the filibuster, their BIF eliminates almost all of the progressive elements in Biden’s proposals, instead focusing narrowly on building and repair projects that provide windfall profits to the construction industry but do nothing to provide direct support for children, families, women, or students. Progressives fear that Republicans will do as they have done before: drag out and stall the process as long as possible, trick moderate Democrats into watering the plan down in the futile hope of eventual Republican support, and then vote against it.
Possibly coming up this week: Pelosi and other party leaders promised that if BIF is enacted they will follow it up by using their Democratic majority to pass a reconciliation bill containing the progressive AJFP measures stripped out of the BIF. Or, if BIF fails, they promised to move ahead with a comprehensive reconciliation bill. The first step in the reconciliation process is to pass a Budget Resolution in the Senate that contains the set-up language for the later reconciliation bill. The Budget Resolution cannot be filibustered, but if (as expected) all Republicans vote against it, all 50 Democratic senators will have to support it so it can pass with V.P. Harris’ tie-breaking vote. Schumer has promised to call up the budget resolution for a vote before the Senate goes on vacation in early August, so it might come to the floor this week.
But regardless of the Senate’s tactical maneuvers, passing a real AJFP will require support from conservative Democrats such as Manchin, Sinema, and our own Feinstein. It’s not our job to get snarled in the weeds of BIF versus Reconciliation. Our job is to tell our MoC what we need and want -- including investment in and protection of children, families, women, and students. It’s their job to get it done.
References
American Families Plan Fact Sheet: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/28/fact-sheet-the-american-families-plan/
How the Build Back Better Framework Will Support Women’s Employment and Strengthen Family Economic Security: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/15/fact-sheet-how-the-build-back-better-framework-will-support-womens-employment-and-strengthen-family-economic-security/
How the Build Back Better Plan Will Create a Better Future for Young Americans: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/22/fact-sheet-how-the-build-back-better-plan-will-create-a-better-future-for-young-americans/