The United States must do its part to end the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.

Why?

For one, there’s the humanitarian imperative to do what we can to prevent needless suffering and death.

More selfishly, there’s the reality that even as we work to control the pandemic here in America, we could end up facing more contagious and deadlier variants if we allow the coronavirus to continue mutating all over the world.

• Public Citizen has calculated that it would take $25 billion to produce enough vaccine to end the pandemic everywhere.

• $25 billion is roughly how much Congress recently gave the Pentagon *on top of* the $750 billion in military spending the Biden administration asked for.

• But, unlike funding for more guns and warships, this investment would actually help people — in America and globally.

A few weeks ago, House Democrats — following intensive advocacy by Public Citizen — proposed including an initial $2 billion for expanded international and domestic vaccine manufacturing as part of President Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan.

It’s far from what’s needed, but this $2 billion down payment would be a great first step toward doing our part, as the richest country on Earth, to end this pandemic for all of humanity.

But with a handful of conservative Democrats trying to water down the entire “Build Back Better” plan, even this modest investment in global vaccine manufacturing is in peril.

Tell every House and Senate Democrat:

The United States — for humanitarian reasons and to protect its own people — must do its part to end the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. If anything, Congress should authorize the full $25 billion needed to produce enough vaccine to accomplish that goal. But under no circumstances should the initial $2 billion down payment on that essential investment be stripped from the “Build Back Better” plan.

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Thanks for taking action.

For progress,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
 
 
Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009 | Unsubscribe Facebook “has repeatedly misled the public.”

That’s according to a whistleblower — Frances Haugen — who testified before Congress TODAY following her release of thousands of internal company documents and a series of damning reports about Facebook in The Wall Street Journal.

Thanks to Haugen, we are all learning even more about long-suspected, real-world consequences of deliberate choices Facebook has made in its seemingly unquenchable thirst for profits.

Haugen’s testimony and the documents she made public show that the company knows its products (which include Instagram and WhatsApp along with Facebook itself):

• Foment anti-democratic and authoritarian movements.

• Stoke ethnic violence.

• Facilitate human trafficking.

• Worsen body image issues among young women.

Again and again, however, Facebook has declined to take steps it knows could counteract those problems — out of fear that doing so would impede profits — while simultaneously keeping secret vital information that would enable policymakers to act.

As Haugen noted during her congressional testimony today, “The company’s leadership keeps vital information from the public, the U.S. government, its shareholders, and governments around the world.”

We are calling on Facebook to do three things right away:

1. Release internal research related to how its products impact individuals and societies.

2. Stop programming its algorithms to intentionally boost hateful, violent, and anti-democratic content.

3. Permanently end its plans to launch a version of Instagram for teenagers (the company has so far only temporarily paused those plans).

Tell Facebook:

Release the internal research related to how your products impact individuals and societies. Stop programming your algorithms to intentionally boost hateful, violent, and anti-democratic content. And permanently end your plans to launch a version of Instagram for teenagers.

Add your name now.

Thanks for taking action.

For accountability and progress,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
 
 
Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009 | Unsubscribe