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

Memo: Voters Support the Biden-Sanders Task Force Recommendations
Over the last two years, Data for Progress and YouGov Blue have polled over 1,600 issues, which puts us in a unique position to evaluate the popularity of the new recommendations of Biden–Sanders Unity Task Force.

We did just that in a new memo. Of the task force policies we have polling on, we found that most enjoy, at minimum, a plurality of support, and many are favored by an overwhelming majority of voters.

For example, the task force recommends an executive order to bar companies from receiving federal contracts if they outsource jobs, pay workers less than $15 an hour, or engage in anti-union practices. We matched that with our polling, showing that a clear cut majority (57 percent) of voters support this idea.



Read the whole thing here.


Biden’s Updated Climate Agenda Has the Markings of a Green New Deal
Last summer, when we published our Green New Deal candidate scorecards, we found that Joe Biden satisfied just 29 of our 48 criteria, behind competitors like Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and former mayor Pete Buttigieg. Now, with the release of new additions to Biden’s climate plan, we took another look and found that he now meets 39.5 of the 48 criteria.

Thanks to advocacy and pressure from the progressive wing of the party, it’s now clear that Biden has endorsed the Green New Deal in all but name.



Importantly, Biden’s plan now meets 9 of our 14 environmental justice-focused criteria, a big improvement from just 6 a year ago.

In a great new Grist piece, Julian Brave NoiseCat explains how progressives’ success pushing Biden to the left when his nomination was already secured is historically unprecedented.


Data Bytes

• Information Districts Are a Popular Way to Expand Funding for Public Media: Local journalism has been hit hard by the coronavirus — according to the Poynter Institute, more than 100 local news organizations have shut down or hollowed out since the start of the pandemic. Without economic assistance, the capacity of independent journalism to hold those in power accountable could be weakened.
  
  One way to support local news organizations would be to include them in the Paycheck Protection Program. Support for using coronavirus stimulus funds to support local journalism is not overwhelming, but we found that it’s favored by a 44-43 plurality of voters.
  
  
   

• Making the Case for the Clean Energy Innovation and Deployment Act (CEIDA): Fresh off our blog, Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette makes the case for CEIDA, an act she wrote that would require U.S. power companies to achieve net-zero emissions between 2037 and 2050.
  
  Our polling finds that this type of clean energy standard is popular. Sixty-two percent of Americans support reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, while 21 percent oppose.
  
  
   

• Doctors Overwhelmingly Back Medicaid Expansion for the Unemployed: We know Americans overwhelmingly support expanding Medicaid — but what about those on the frontlines of our healthcare system: doctors? In a new poll of doctors with the Committee to Protect Medicare, we find that 63 percent of doctors think Medicaid should cover all unemployed Americans.
   

From The Blog
Voters Support Extending The Expanded Unemployment Benefits
Information Districts Are a Popular Way to Expand Funding for Public Media
Rep. Michael McCaul’s Failure of Imagination
Making the Case for the Clean Energy Innovation and Deployment Act
Biden Must Prioritize the Courts if Elected


Memos
Memo: Voters Support Requiring Federal Law Enforcement to Identify Themselves
Memo: Voters Support the Biden-Sanders Task Force Recommendations
Memo: The Inclusive Value Ledger - Digital Dollars and Digital Platforms for Digital Public Banking
Memo: Democrats Hold Upper Hand On Coronavirus Negotiations
Memo: The Case for a Right to Counsel in Housing Court
Memo: Biden’s Updated Climate Agenda has the Markings of a Green New Deal


Media Hits
Doctors Overwhelmingly Back Medicaid Expansion for the Unemployed @New York Magazine
Biden’s Cabinet and the Thin Progressive Bench @The American Prospect
Are we at the dawn of a new welfare state? This policy analyst thinks so. @Grist
Inslee recommended for cabinet positions by progressive think tank @Washington State Wire
Voters want Facebook to be accountable for climate misinformation, poll finds @The Verge
How to Move Biden Left @The Nation


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