Friend,

This weekend marked two crucial deadlines: The pandemic-related $600/week federal unemployment benefits expired, as did a partial eviction moratorium.

More people will go hungry, forgo medical care, or get pushed out of their homes—all because Senate Republicans needlessly delayed COVID-19 aid.

Way back in May, the House passed the Heroes Act to extend unemployment benefits and get people more support they desperately need, but it’s been sitting on Mitch McConnell’s desk for months.

Now Senate Republicans’ last-minute proposed stimulus package leaves out many important protections from the Heroes Act, including guaranteeing access to clean water, funding the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and election security measures, and providing aid to states and communities.

Sign now to demand the Senate pass the Heroes Act immediately. The American people cannot wait any longer for COVID-19 aid.

After blocking even the discussion of a stimulus package for months, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is only starting to introduce draft legislation today… after crucial federal protections, which have been a lifeline for 12 million renters and 30 million unemployed people, already expired.

With families on the brink of homelessness, Senate Republicans have been debating just how much to lower unemployment benefits, likely to just $200/week—in the midst of a global pandemic and the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Meanwhile, the Heroes Act would extend the current $600/week benefits through January 2021, and would include independent contractors and gig workers.

Here are other critical ways the Senate Republicans' plan for the upcoming COVID-19 stimulus package leaves out many important protections from the Heroes Act:

• No protections for the millions of Americans facing water shutoffs, who can’t wash their hands during the pandemic. I fought hard and successfully included the $1.5 billion Water is a Human Right Fund in the Heroes Act, which would guarantee access to water by prohibiting water shutoffs, mandating water reconnections, and helping low-income households pay their bills.
• No student loan forgiveness, debt relief, food assistance, or renter/homeowner assistance.
• No hazard pay for essential workers and no support for undocumented immigrants, the majority of whom pay taxes.
• No additional money for state or local governments, which are now facing major layoffs (including frontline workers who keep us safe), service reductions that would harm us all, and insolvency. After we fought for the inclusion of $1 trillion to help states and municipalities in the Heroes Act, I’m appalled.
• No funding for the USPS, which could run out of money and halt critical services—including some marginalized communities’ ability to vote by mail—by late September.
• No money for election security or states’ election prep, including what states need to ramp up vote-by-mail infrastructure in time for November’s national election. In Michigan and across the country, people are requesting absentee ballots in record numbers, which is great for our democracy—if states can keep up with the demand. In order to ensure a smooth election this fall, Congress needs to fund states’ efforts to make voting safely more accessible to all.
• Only 20% of the funding we allocated in the Heroes Act is coronavirus testing and tracing—even though COVID-19 cases are on the rise nationwide since we passed the Heroes Act months ago.
• A paltry amount of school funding, with billions of dollars reserved for schools that physically reopen (even if they risk lives in the process).

Sign now if you agree this is unacceptable. Together, let’s demand the Senate pass the Heroes Act immediately to help people impacted by the pandemic.

We have to raise our voices because Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans don’t understand the urgency. Mitch McConnell is a multi-millionaire, among the wealthiest members of Congress. He has the immense privilege and callousness to ignore the reality for everyday Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. Even before the pandemic, half of all Americans had no savings at all.

And in a country where a typical white family’s net worth is 10x greater than that of a Black family, Black and brown communities have been hit hardest by the pandemic’s economic and health impacts.

While Senate Republicans have bragged about doing nothing, unemployed workers are in limbo and currently just eligible to receive their states’ unemployment benefits—which usually only replace 40% of past wages.

Now’s the time for Senate Republicans to find the urgency they had for bailing out wealthy corporate executives, and pass the Heroes Act. I know my constituents, and families across the country, cannot afford to wait for additional relief. We’ve got to keep raising the alarm and demanding immediate action.

Sign now to demand the Senate pass the Heroes Act now to help people impacted by the pandemic.

Always serving you,

Rashida

P.S. Passing the Heroes Act is just the first step. I will continue fighting for a bold national coronavirus response, including direct monthly payments to everyone in this country, while ensuring my constituents are connected to the resources they need right now.

If you’re affected by the reduction in unemployment benefits, check out this website for Michiganders or find information about your state’s unemployment insurance program. If you’re a renter and need assistance, check here to see if your state or municipality can help. If you have further questions, please reply to this email.

I’m fighting alongside you and I hope you and your family can stay safe and well in this difficult time.