John,
Just yesterday, we heard that Senate Democrats may be planning to drop paid family and medical leave from the Build Back Better Act.
The way we and Jaamal see it, John, it's unacceptable that one person from one state can have all the power to make decisions that will crush our district and districts like ours across the country.
Jamaal understands how barbaric and inhumane this is. In fact, it's choices like these, from politicians like Joe Manchin, that motivated Jamaal to run for and serve in Congress in the first place.
Here's why this latest update is so ridiculous, John:
President Biden initially proposed 12 weeks in the Build Back Better Act. It was then cut down to just four weeks, and now we're hearing it's zero weeks because of Manchin's opposition.
Most childcare centers won't take children under six weeks. We don't even allow puppies to leave their parent until it's developmentally appropriate. The United States currently offers no guarantee of paid leave to families — and now, we're negotiating for a meager four weeks’ worth or less.
Voters, particularly Black, brown, and working class voters, delivered the White House, the Senate, and the House for us. Our lawmakers must meet this moment, and meet the needs of the people — without compromise. Our communities have been playing catch up trying to access the American dream for decades, and the moment is now to deliver.
Jamaal's leadership in Congress has never felt more urgent or necessary. Since the beginning, he's been holding the line with other progressive members of Congress to push back against these compromises from politicians like Joe Manchin.
And as we look towards Jamaal's first re-election just a little over a year away, we know that the political establishment is going to do everything it can to silence our movement. If we want to keep leaders like Jamaal in Congress, we need to prepare to fight back — hard.
In solidarity,
Team Bowman
