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

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After suffering through the coronavirus pandemic for the past year and a half, you’d think that lawmakers would want to do everything in their power to prevent us from being devastated by a pandemic ever again. Unfortunately, that’s not the case — Congress is reportedly considering cutting down the amount of funding for pandemic preparedness in the American Jobs Plan from $30 billion to a measly $5 billion. In light of the fact that we’ve suffered a $16 trillion loss to our economy because of coronavirus — not to mention close to 600,000 deaths — this proposed cut is unacceptable.
 
New polling from us and Guarding Against Pandemics, a group calling on Congress to fully fund pandemic preparedness, shows that the American people agree. 

 
We find that by a +50-point-margin, a majority of voters support investing the full $30 billion into pandemic preparedness. We also find that voters see investing in pandemic preparedness as a prudent financial investment: by a +19-point-margin, voters believe that fully funding pandemic preparedness now is a small price to pay to avert economic disaster and the loss of lives when the next pandemic arrives.



As GAP founder Gabe Bankman-Fried wrote on the DFP blog about these findings, “we need to make this important investment now to prevent further losses of life, to strengthen our public health infrastructure, and to protect families and our economy for years to come. Congress must fully fund pandemic preparedness in the next infrastructure package to ensure that we are as prepared as possible if and when the next pandemic arises.”
 
You can read our memo on the polling we did with Guarding Against Pandemics here, and Gabe Bankman-Fried’s blog here.

Here are some other highlights from DFP over the past week:

Sen. Gillibrand on the blog: Pass the Data Protection Act
Every time you use the internet or an app, companies are collecting large amounts of personal data — and they’re using it to target their services or selling it to other companies. Now-regular DFP blog contributor Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has a plan to address that: the Data Protection Act, which would establish a new federal agency to create and standardize a regulatory framework to protect Americans’ data privacy.
 
As Sen. Gillibrand explains on our blog, voters across party lines want the government to step in to protect data privacy — 77 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of Independents, and 65 percent of Republicans think the government should be doing more to protect our data.



The Granite State gets it — New Hampshire voters want to go big on clean energy
Our new polling with the New Hampshire League of Conservation Voters finds that Granite State voters are all on board with the Clean Electricity Standard — including nearly all Democrats, nearly two-thirds of Independents, and 40 percent of Republicans.


We also find that voters in the state want to go big on investments in clean energy jobs and incentivizing low-pollution technologies.

Voters Are Pro-PRO Act
To pass a bill through budget reconciliation, its provisions must have a more-than-incidental effect on expenditures or revenues. How can the labor rights provisions of the PRO Act fit into that? As Rep. Andy Levin explains on our blog, one major section of the bill can be passed through budget reconciliation: civil monetary penalties. By including fines for companies that commit exploitative labor practices in the next reconciliation package, we can make significant advancements for workers rights with a simple majority vote.
 
Our polling finds that voters are on board with this strategy — 56 percent want to pass the PRO Act through reconciliation, and 52 percent support its provision to penalize employers for union busting activity.


One simple thing you can do to push for bold climate policy
We’re currently at a critical moment for climate policy — we have the opportunity to pass a historic investment package that would greatly advance the progressive climate agenda. Wondering what you can do to help make it happen?

Glad you asked! Go to call4climate.com and call 202-318-1885 to tell your legislators that we need a clean electricity standard, 40 percent of funding targeted to frontline communities, no money for fossil fuels, and a civilian climate corps.




From Data for Progress

Memo: Voters Support Investing in Pandemic Preparedness
Memo: New Hampshire Voters Support The Clean Electricity Standard
Blog: Sen. Gillibrand: Pass The Data Protection Act 
Blog: Rep. Andy Levin: Voters Strongly Support Passing The PRO Act 
Blog: Congress Can Prevent the Next Pandemic. Why Won't They? 
Blog: A Bipartisan Innovation Bill Scraped Through the Senate and Heads to the House. Could This Notch a Win for Progressives? 

Bonus this week: check out DFP Political Director Marcela Mulholland’s Q&A with SactoPolitico!

DFP In The News 

Forbes: Discharge Student Loans In Bankruptcy? Courts Disagree — But Reform Could Be Coming
The Daily Beast: New Dem Ad Campaign Tells Sen. Sinema: You’re ‘the Problem’
Politico: Left goes all-in for Nina Turner in tightening Ohio race
Rolling Stone: Want Proof We Need a Civilian Climate Corps? Look No Further Than Louisiana
Majority Leader: During the 117th Congress, House Democrats Have Taken Decisive Action on Behalf of the American People

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