Friend,

With omicron spreading, it’s clearer than ever that this pandemic is far from over. But our federal government must start acting like this is the case.

I’ve been fighting for a massive pandemic response in Congress since early 2020, and I want to reassure you that I’m not giving up. Here are just a few things I’ve been up to:

• Introducing the Automatic BOOST to Communities (ABC) Act to send $2,000 monthly payments on debit cards to every person in the United States during the pandemic—including undocumented immigrants, who’ve been left out of COVID relief.
• Successfully pushing the federal government to send people COVID stimulus money via prepaid debit cards rather than checks—ensuring accessibility for the 25% of Americans who are unbanked or underbanked.
• Leading the fight in Congress for state and local financial COVID relief and secured more than $10 billion for states and local municipalities in the House-passed Heroes Act.
• Successfully pushing the Federal Reserve to adjust its lending programs to financially support more local governments.
• Introducing the Dismantle Mass Incarceration for Public Health Act, which would require the release of many eligible incarcerated people during the pandemic and for a year afterward—because COVID-19 should not be a death sentence for anyone, and jails and prisons are hotspots.
• Introducing the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act, which takes on corporate greed by raising taxes on companies that pay their top executives at least 50 times more than the pay of a median worker. The pandemic has especially highlighted the gross income inequality and pay gap between CEOs and their employees. This bill would address that, with the taxes going to fund critical services for working families.
• Leading 111 House colleagues in a historic $305 billion funding push for K-12 schools in the wake of the pandemic.
• Pushing for a moratorium on evictions and utility shutoffs, and to cancel mortgage and rent payments during the pandemic—including debt forgiveness and protecting people’s credit ratings and rental history.
• Shining a light on the pandemic’s disproportionate health and economic impacts for Black people, as well as Indigenous people and other people of color.

These are the kinds of big, bold changes our federal government must take in order to get us through this pandemic.

Will you chip in $5 or more so I can keep fighting for the changes we need?

Thank you so much. Here are some resources in the meantime to stay as safe as possible:

• The federal government is offering free at-home COVID test kits here

• Additional at-home rapid tests (if you have private insurance, you can now get reimbursed)

• Affordable disposable masks

• Affordable reusable masks

• Options for vaccines and booster shots near you (for people 5 years and older)

Thanks again,

Rashida

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Team Rashida
Date: Tue, Jan 18, 2022
Subject: public health > corporate profits
To: [email protected]

Friend,

As the ultra-contagious omicron variant spreads and COVID cases skyrocket, the CDC has responded by prioritizing corporate profits over public health—while devaluing the lives of disabled and immunocompromised people.

Throughout this pandemic, our government has failed to take the widespread action we’ve all needed to be safe.

Across the country, we’re seeing students and teachers take matters into their own hands, organizing strikes and walk-outs to demand better masks, regular testing, and more. And they’re bringing about change in their school districts.

Thankfully, starting tomorrow, the Biden administration is offering four free at-home COVID test kits per household. Click here to order yours.

This is a good start, but our federal government must do more to address the systemic problems that got us here.

Rashida has been pushing for this from the start of the pandemic, when she immediately began introducing transformative legislation and shining a light on the pandemic’s disproportionate health and economic impacts for Black people, as well as Indigenous people and other people of color.

She knew what we needed early on. For example:

• We need Medicare for All, and a healthcare system that adequately addresses the needs of Black and brown people, who’ve faced disparate health impacts before and during this pandemic.
• We need to pay people at least $2,000 a month to get by, especially now that families have to make do without the expanded Child Tax Credit. While billionaires have amassed immense wealth during the pandemic, everyday people are still living paycheck to paycheck.
• We need paid leave so people can take time off to care for themselves and their loved ones without the fear of losing their jobs.
• We need to support and listen to the most vulnerable people who are already bearing the brunt of this crisis, including immunocompromised people, disabled people, people in prisons, and unhoused people.
• We need to invest in communities, not corporations. It’s time to level the playing field between CEOs and workers, and to narrow the ever-widening racial wealth gap.

Rashida is one of the rare political leaders who understands the urgency and the root causes of the systemic breakdowns we’ve seen during this pandemic—and who’s pushing for bold change to address people’s needs.

Can you chip in $5 or more now so Rashida and our team can keep fighting for systemic solutions at the scale we desperately need?

Thank you for being part of our squad. And since it’s difficult to access needed supplies such as masks and tests, here are some places you can purchase those online:

• The federal government is offering four free at-home COVID test kits here
• At-home rapid tests (if you have private insurance, you can now get reimbursed)
• Affordable disposable masks
• Affordable reusable masks
• Options for vaccines and booster shots near you (for people 5 years and older)

- Team Rashida