Dear John,

Late this week, news broke that a bipartisan group of senators has reached a deal with President Biden on infrastructure. While any instance of bipartisanship seems at first to be a rare victory, it’s clear that some of the most critical elements of the president’s Jobs and Families Plans to invest in both physical and the caregiving infrastructure were left out by Republicans.

Let me be very clear: If we want a true recovery from the economic crisis exacerbated by the pandemic, women and families cannot be left behind. To invest in roads and bridges, but cut funding for child care and early child education, support for home health care jobs, expansion of Medicare, among other caregiving investments is—quite simply—bad economic policy. As Cecile Richards wrote on MsMagazine.com this week, “To grow our economy, we need everyone to be able to participate, and that includes women. President Biden is doing what no other president has: recognizing what it takes for true equal participation in the workforce… It’s time that Republicans in Congress get on board and join the 21st century.” 

House Speaker (and personal feminist icon!) Nancy Pelosi, along with other Democratic leaders, made clear this week that Democrats will not allow this bipartisan deal to proceed without a firm commitment to pass a larger budget reconciliation bill concurrently. (Budget reconciliation is expected to include the remainder of President Biden's $1.7 trillion American Jobs Plan and $1.8 trillion American Families Plan that are not covered in the current bipartisan proposal.) “There ain’t gonna be no bipartisan bill unless we are going to have reconciliation,” Pelosi said this week. “Plain and simple. In fact, I used the word ‘ain’t.’” 

This weekend, I encourage you to read the excellent reporting on the importance of meaningful infrastructure investments from our team here at Ms. Then, contact your senators and representatives and let them know what you think—because investing in women and families is the only path to a true pandemic recovery. 

Also this week, Republicans unanimously voted to block the For the People Act (a sweeping and much-needed voting rights and reform bill) from moving to the Senate floor for debate. On MsMagazine.com, Elizabeth Hira, policy counsel and fellow at the Brennan Center, lays out why this reform is so critically important, calling it “America’s next great civil rights bill.” This is a particularly shameful moment for the GOP—and one that voters, the majority of whom support the For the People Act, will not soon forget. It also makes clear once more what our team here at Ms. has been reporting: Any advancements for women’s and civil rights hinge on the battle to eliminate the filibuster.

Finally, I must touch on the news this week that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will deny President Biden communion due to his support of abortion rights. As Zach Hiner, the executive director of SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), explained on MsMagazine.com this week, this “is a tone deaf move that will at best fail, at worst speed up the decline in church attendance among millennials and Gen Z.” It’s clear to me that this is simply a shockingly transparent effort by the bishops to deflect attention from the ongoing child rape crisis and cover-up within their ranks. Be sure to spend some time with Hiner’s must-read piece below. 

For equality,

Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor