John,

“Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country. This is a great day for him, it’s a great day for everybody. ... This is a great, great day in terms of equality.”[1] That was Donald Trump, last Friday, arguing that the economy is coming back like a “rocket ship.”

This absolutely appalling statement by Trump is an attempt to whitewash the systemic racism that tens of thousands of people in the U.S. and around the world have been protesting, daily, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. He’s also trying to divert attention away from his own failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed 111,000 Americans and tanked the economy.

Lost in Trump’s indecent and outrageous victory lap over a slightly lower unemployment rate are the disparities being felt by U.S. workers.

Last month, the U.S. added 2.5 million jobs, bringing the overall unemployment rate down to 16.3% (not the 13.3% erroneously reported). But even as sectors of the U.S. economy begin reopening, the unemployment rate among Black workers still increased slightly in May.[2]

And, according to research by our friends at the Economic Policy Institute, unemployment rates among Black workers and women (white and Black) have greatly outpaced those of white men during the pandemic.[3]

So, as we begin the slow, arduous process of digging out from the economic downturn, we must remind our elected officials that we are still in the midst of a pandemic with tens of millions of Americans hurting and out of work. This is not the time to eliminate critical support for U.S. families and our communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sign the petition: Tell Mitch McConnell and Republicans running the U.S. Senate to stop their foot-dragging and pass another critical round of pandemic relief and recovery legislation that protects millions of people who are struggling in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Last month, the U.S. House passed the $3 trillion HEROES Act, which includes a wide range of essential provisions, including aid to our states and communities with $1 trillion to prevent cuts to essential services like education and health care; funding for coronavirus medical treatment and testing; direct aid for struggling families; a boost to SNAP nutrition assistance; increases to housing support; extensions of jobless benefits and paid leave; the ability for people to vote by mail this November; and repeals the $250 billion tax break going to millionaire business owners.

Now, it’s up to the Senate to pass legislation that addresses those same priorities.

Join Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund and our allies in demanding the Senate act immediately to pass a robust COVID-19 relief and recovery plan that funds state and community services, repeals the #MillionairesGiveaway that handed an average $1.6 million tax cut to 43,000 millionaires, and provides direct aid to families most in need.

We cannot allow the Senate to leave millions of people behind in our pandemic response just because of one erroneous jobs report, which shows the beginnings of a recovery. It took us years to recover from the Great Recession of 2009 -- we cannot let Mitch McConnell and Trump hold us back this time when the economy is in even worse shape.

Thank you,

Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund

[1] “Trump Says Jobs Report Made It a ‘Great Day’ for George Floyd, Stepping on Message,” New York Times, June 5, 2020

[2] “Unemployment rate drops and 2.5 million jobs added, after states reopened,” Washington Post, June 6, 2020

[3] “Black workers face two of the most lethal preexisting conditions for coronavirus—racism and economic inequality,” Economic Policy Institute, June 1, 2020