The over the cliff edition. President Trump and Senate Republicans, exuberant over a certain Supreme Court vacancy but considerably less so when it comes to helping Americans to eat or pay rent, are prepared to push millions over the cliff. More than 13.4 million people currently receiving unemployment benefits stand to lose assistance come Dec. 31. Three out of every four states have run out of money to pay for Trump’s Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) Program. New poverty data shows the number of poor people in this country increasing dramatically since May. And, as always, not everyone is being tossed over the cliff equally. Black people and Latinx are more than twice as likely as white people to be poor. Both groups disproportionately work in industries hard-hit by the recession and may face barriers to aid – if it even exists. Families already struggling to eat and to keep a roof over their head continue to face a double whammy in the form of closed schools and unaffordable, inaccessible child care – school closings have forced many women, who are more likely to be primary caregivers for young children, to reduce their work hours or leave their jobs altogether, which can result in loss of health coverage. And now, with various unemployment benefits lapsing or set to lapse in exactly a month and a half, many more Americans will be brought to the cliff’s precipice. The resulting shock to states and workers could set off a downward spiral as Americans stop buying goods and are unable to pay rent or other bills.

Prospects for passage of robust COVID-19 relief grow increasingly dim, either before the election or even by the end of the year. But it is not too late to tell Senators to do the right thing. Senators particularly in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, and South Carolina need to hear from you! Click here and scroll down to see sample tweets that you can send to these senators.