On Tuesday, House Democrats unveiled their long-awaited new emergency relief bill. This bill, which weighs in at over 1,800 pages, is the bill that had been identified as “CARES 2”; it now has its own name, the "HEROES Act." It's currently scheduled to be voted on by the House this coming Friday.
We are pleased to see that the brief summary released by Speaker Pelosi appears to include a great many of the provisions we have been asking for. According to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, it includes more funding for state and local governments, COVID-19 virus testing, the USPS, nutrition assistance, student loan relief, education, and rental and mortgage provisions. That’s all thanks to your tireless calls, emails, signatures on our open letters, and participation in social media actions!
However, the summary raises some immediate and urgent questions, so we are joining the Congressional Progressive Caucus in asking for more time to analyze and discuss the bill before it is voted on. We want to make sure that the bill implements continuous financial relief for individuals, not just another one-time check. And we want to ensure that the benefits are available to all people in the US—regardless of race, gender, immigration status, employment status, the political leanings of their state, or their residence in US territories rather than states.
Call your Representatives, thank them for their initiative on this bill, and ask them to include the above provisions and give time for progressive groups to study the bill before it is voted on.
We’re planning for 2021 and beyond
Since January 2017, we’ve committed ourselves to resisting the dangerous and regressive agenda of Trump and the Republicans. With the courage and enthusiasm of our members, countless hours of work, and strategies outlined in the Indivisible Guide, we’ve achieved a lot. We were part of stopping the destruction of the ACA. We raised awareness of the Tax Scam bill. Our text-banking and postcard-writing events helped fuel the blue wave in 2018. We became active participants in coalitions working to protect immigrants targeted by the Trump administration.
This year, we are fighting to take back the Presidency and the Senate, as well as keeping the House and flipping state and local seats. We are also planning our mission for 2021 and beyond, because that is when we’ll have the opportunity to repair the damage done by the Trump administration and to pass legislation that will benefit all Americans.
We’ve put together a statement of our mission and values. These principles, which we use to propose and evaluate legislation and calls to action, are as follows. You can also read the complete statement on our website.
We believe in the humanity and equality of all people. Therefore, we oppose all the varied forms of hatred, racism, misogyny, bigotry, nationalism, and scapegoating that Republicans use to divide us against each other for partisan gain, personal greed, and special privileges for the elite.
We believe that through people-power, positive social gains are forced up from below by “We the People” thinking globally and acting locally.
We believe the climate-emergency is a national security threat that requires rethinking and revamping our entire economy through a Green New Deal.
We believe health and medical care can, and must, be provided as a human right rather than a source of private profit.
We believe in science, education, and tolerance. Advances in technology must be used to benefit all of humanity rather than just the wealthy and powerful. And that we must guard against weaponized- disinformation used to incite hatred or enable authoritarian surveillance, repression, and invasions of privacy.
We believe that the right and ability to vote in free and fair elections is fundamental to our democracy. Because vast wealth is a source of political power which threatens our democracy, campaign finance reform is necessary to ensure that elected officials prioritize the interests of their constituents above those of big donors and corporate lobbyists.
We hope that in 2021 and beyond, we will no longer have to resist Trump and the Republican agenda, and instead have the opportunity to build an America with humanity, equality and justice for all. Our mission is to promote policy at the local, state, and federal level that adheres to these values. Let us know what you think about our Mission and Values statement by emailing [email protected].
ISF Spotlight
Feeling down or lonely? We’re holding a virtual coffee talk TODAY at 3:30 PM to bring some joy and togetherness to our community. Hop on to our Zoom meeting for some freeform chatting/community building and sharing advice on how to get through this tough time. Join here with the password ‘ISFcoffee.’
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ISF General Meeting: Sunday, May 17, 1–3pm via Zoom. Register here to join our online meeting. We are working on more ways to stay in contact with you online!
Virtual Pints & Postcards: Sunday, May 17, 3–5pm via Zoom. Join us in partnership with Vote Forward to write letters while chatting after our general meeting. Register HERE to get an invitation. For more info, see our webpage on the event.
Wednesday, May 13, 3:30–5pm: Indivisible SF Virtual Coffee Talk via Zoom. Hop on to our Zoom meeting for some freeform chatting/community building and sharing advice on how to get through this tough time. Join here with the password ‘ISFcoffee’.
Saturday, May 16, 1–4pm: At Home & Together Phone Bank with Democracy Action SF. RSVP here to join this phone bank via Zoom.
Sunday, May 17, 12–2pm: At Home & Together Phone Bank with Democracy Action SF. RSVP here to join this phone bank via Zoom.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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