RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update August 11, 2020

8:00am, Monday, July 13, 2020

For millions, everything is riding on what Congress is doing right now. Over the next 1-2 weeks Congress will decide whether millions in the U.S. are evicted. Unfortunately, the Senate legislative proposal released last night fails to address these urgent needs – which is why we need to take action now, as policymakers meet to negotiate the contours of a final bill.

COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on families in the U.S. and those living in low-income countries. And while we’re looking for a solution to this global health pandemic, Congress must ensure that people in the U.S. and globally have what they need to make it through the crisis. Both the Majority and Minority Leadership in the Senate and House still have to come to a negotiating table on what’s next. We must call on the Senate and the House to take the right actions as they craft the next and potentially last COVID-19 bill. Here’s what’s at stake:

• With millions of Americans still unemployed because of COVID-19, and temporary bans on evictions around the country about to expire, between 19 and 23 million Americans face a “housing cliff” – owing rent they are not able to pay. Millions could become homeless in the middle of a pandemic. Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s proposal known as the HEALS Act does not include any emergency rental assistance for the millions of unassisted households facing evictions and homelessness during the pandemic. RESULTS and other advocates continue to push for $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and a national moratorium on evictions in the final package.
• Millions of families in the U.S. are struggling to put food on the table, with Black and Latino families facing particularly high food insecurity rates, yet the Senate bill does not boost SNAP benefits — which means we should continue to push policymakers to include a 15 percent boost in SNAP benefits in the final package.
• Despite projections that the economic downturn will continue well into 2021, the Senate did not follow the House’s lead in proposing a temporary expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for low-income workers and families. We continue to push for these tax credit expansions in the final package.
• The HEALS Act/ McConnell proposal does include $4.4 billion for foreign aid for global vaccine preparedness by calling for $3 billion in funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and another $1 billion for vaccine delivery. It is clear that without a vaccine, the world has no sustainable exit strategy from this global health crisis. But the current needs – including resources necessary for famine relief and additional support for underfunded health systems in lower-income countries – continue to compound. In low-income countries, hunger and malnutrition could double, at least 2 million preventable deaths could occur as a result of disrupted healthcare, and 100 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty. Action cannot wait until the next fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills move through Congress. Specifically, we support a designation of no less than $20 billion for foreign assistance in an emergency supplemental that includes:
  • $4 billion over two years for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria
  • $4 billion for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
  • $2 billion for global anti-hunger programs, with at least $500 million for nutrition

With congressional leaders and the White House beginning intense negotiations over a final package, we need to make our voices heard — we cannot allow the final bill to ignore the urgent needs of low-income families here and around the world. Please take one or both of the actions below and share it with friends:

• Action to Support U.S. Renters. Use our online alert to call or e-mail Congress today to urge them to include $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and a national moratorium on evictions in the next COVID-19 response package.
• Action to Support Those Made Vulnerable in Low-Income Countries: Use our online action to write, call, or Tweet to your senators and representative and urge them to include $20 billion in development assistance in the next COVID-19 response package.

We have just a week or two before Congress is expected to finalize this bill. Please take action now, and see our latest updates for more details and tools for your follow up with congressional offices and local media.