John,

With the final drops of COVID relief expiring at the end of this month, the American people need Congress to act now.

Enhanced unemployment benefits are expiring as hiring for new jobs remains slow. And the evictions moratorium ends in just a few weeks as we enter the winter months. State and local governments, whose revenue has been hit particularly hard during the pandemic, need immediate assistance to prevent cuts to vital public services―and the jobs that deliver them.

The good news is that a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators has put forward the framework of a plan that will begin to address some of these urgent needs. But, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is throwing a wrench into the works.

On Tuesday, McConnell circulated his own plan to Senate Republicans, which does NOT provide stimulus checks for U.S. families, aid to state and local governments, a ban on evictions and aid to pay rent, and only offers a one month extension of enhanced unemployment benefits.[1] Oh, and it does not repeal the $135 billion Millionaires Giveaway that Republican Senators snuck into the CARES Act back in March―which is still the only COVID-relief package passed out of both bodies of Congress.

McConnell’s plan does contain several giveaways to the wealthy and corporations:

• Corporations will get a “liability shield” that prevents unsafe employers from being held accountable when their employees contract COVID.

• The plan doubles-down on a tax deduction for rich corporations that wine and dine their clients.

• It gives taxpayer subsidies to the wealthy who send their kids to private schools, undercutting funding for public education.

Write to your U.S. Senators right now and tell them to pass urgent bipartisan COVID relief for workers, families and our communities―and to reject Mitch McConnell’s giveaways to corporations and private schools.

While we understand the political limitations of the moment―in the final weeks of the Trump administration―the reality is that the American people can’t wait another few months for help in the midst of a pandemic that is raging across the country.

Join Americans for Tax Fairness and write to your Senators to act immediately.

We will not stop fighting until everyone in the U.S. receives the support they need to keep themselves safe and financially secure during these unprecedented times.

Thank you,

Mark Rickling

Policy and Legislative Director
Americans for Tax Fairness

[1] “Senate GOP Targeted Relief Package,” Dec. 1, 2020 https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1333871006067417090/photo/1, and “Which stimulus proposal will win? The top 2 bill contenders and what they could contain,” CNET Personal Finance, Dec. 3, 2020