Welcome back to the Data for Progress newsletter, your weekly update on our research, blog posts, and memes.

Chuck Schumer for DFP: Why We Need Automatic Stabilizers
The Data for Progress blog has a new contributor you may have heard of: Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer.

On Wednesday, Schumer and Senator Ron Wyden dropped a huge bill to extend unemployment benefits through the duration of the pandemic — a measure that, if enacted, could prevent millions from falling into poverty. Wyden explained the importance of this legislation on our blog last Friday, and Schumer followed with an op-ed of his own on our site:



“Increasing unemployment relief based on data and economic necessity, rather than the political whims of Senate Republicans, will not only provide Americans with greater economic certainty and security, but it will also allow for long-term growth and stability for the entire U.S. economy,” Schumer wrote.

While the CARES Act’s $600 a week boost for unemployed Americans is currently set to expire on July 31, the bill would extend the benefits until the unemployment rate drops to a far lower level. These automatic stabilizers could save millions from falling into poverty, and if enacted, they would work even if Congress does nothing.

Better yet, DFP polling shows this provision is popular — a plurality of voters (49 percent) think benefits should be extended through the duration of the pandemic, while 32 percent think the government should end the relief.



And in a new blog piece, we break down five reasons why the $600 boost is so important, and why Republican allegations that it “disincentivizes work” are immoral and dangerous. Read that too.


Memo: Concern Over the Coronavirus Pandemic Remains High; Voters Support Continued Economic Relief
Progressives have proposed a variety of coronavirus relief packages, from Pramila Jayapal’s paycheck guarantee, to Jayapal and Bernie Sanders’ Emergency Healthcare Guarantee Act, to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren’s pause on corporate mergers, to our very own Clean Jumpstart plan proposed with Evergreen Action, which would combine fiscal stimulus with the green agenda.

Which of these are popular? Answer: literally all of them. In polling published this week we found: 

• Jayapal’s paycheck guarantee proposal has a 68-17 margin of support.

• Sanders and Jayapal’s healthcare plan, which would empower Medicare to cover all Americans’ out-of-pocket expenses, is supported by a 67-22 margin.

• A 64-20 majority supports AOC and Warren’s plan to pause corporate mergers.

• 66 percent of voters support a Clean Jumpstart, while just 18 percent oppose.

Empowering Communities on the Frontlines of Coronavirus and Climate Change
Our polling has repeatedly shown strong support for the Green New Deal. In a new blog post, we show that this support stays strong when respondents are told that at least 40 percent of the aid would be targeted to low-income communities and communities of color. 

Voters support targeting climate investment to low-income areas by a 57-22 margin and to communities of color by a 48-28 margin.



In our piece we lay out six policy approaches to empower frontline communities and address climate change, including mapping disparities in pollution and ensuring community control of investments. Read the entire piece here.


Data Bytes

• Memo: The Case Against Qualified Immunity — Policy and Polling: Qualified immunity shields police officers from being sued unless their behavior is “plainly incompetent or [they] knowingly violate the law” — a high bar that effectively excuses egregious, often lethal, misconduct.
  
  Here’s the good news: The Ending Qualified Immunity Act, which would allow victims of police brutality to sue police departments, is supported by American voters. 53 percent support ending qualified immunity, while 30 percent oppose.
  
  
   

• Voters Don’t Want Police Departments to Have Military Equipment: In a new post, we show that voters want to demilitarize the police. A majority — 51 percent — want the government to stop selling military equipment to police departments, while 35 percent oppose.
  
  

From The Blog
DFP Coronavirus Response Tracking Poll Week 11
The Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Mixtape is Good, Actually
Taking Politics Out of Unemployment Insurance
Voters Don’t Want Police Departments to Have Military Equipment
Voters Support Extending The Expanded Unemployment Benefits Until The End Of This Crisis
Continue the $600 Unemployment Boost, Don’t Phase It Out


Memos
Memo: Concern Over The Coronavirus Pandemic Remains High; Voters Support Continued Economic Relief


Media Hits
GOP Hopes to Revive Economy by Making Life Harder for Unemployed @New York Magazine
Young Voters Want Elizabeth Warren as Biden’s VP @Mother Jones
The Workplace Powers That Employees Need @The Atlantic
How Progressive Candidates of Color Are Building Winning Coalitions @New York Times
Voters — even Republicans — are down in the dumps @Washington Post


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