Calls needed: Congress extend unemployment benefits now

The clock is ticking for many of the 30 million people who have been receiving unemployment benefits. Across the country, those benefits have either already expired or are set to expire tomorrow, because Republicans in the Senate refuse to take action to provide real relief.

Instead, Senate Republicans unveiled a new stimulus package bill that seeks to lower unemployment benefits for folks who are already struggling to put food on the table while, infuriatingly, doubling the so-called "three-martini lunch deduction."1 The Trump administration and Senate Republicans are not listening to the American people, and we need them to do better.

Will you call your senators and demand they extend the $600 COVID-19 unemployment benefit until the pandemic is over?

• Sen. Sinema - (202) 224-4521
• Sen. McSally - (202) 224-2235

Under the plan released by Mitch McConnell and the Senate GOP, unemployed workers would receive only $200 per week. This is not enough to survive on, let alone manage household, health care, childcare, food, and transportation expenses. What's more, this plan would require states to switch to a new and complicated system to calculate and distribute payments to jobless workers.

This is especially cruel, given that many states are already struggling to meet the demands of distributing the current benefits, which are much simpler to administer. This would delay payments for many families who are already struggling, nearly 50% of whom are people of color, who have been hardest hit by the pandemic. 

The pandemic is far from over, and the Senate needs to take the kind of action that will make sure each and every American can get through these difficult times. This is why, last week, Move on delivered over 1.6 million signatures in Washington, D.C., to demand that Congress and the Senate extend the $600 COVID-19 unemployment benefit.

We need the Senate to act with the American people in mind and pass the HEROES Act, which will ensure that the $600 unemployment benefits are extended until the end of the pandemic.

- Move on team

Source: 

1. "Senate GOP won't extend pandemic food stamps but doubles 'three-martini lunch' deduction," The Washington Post, July 28, 2020 

More Information:

Here’s How Congress Might Replace the Extra $600 Weekly Jobless Benefit - The New York Times,  July 27, 2020 

Call now: Demand the Senate pass the HEROES Act

The #GOPVacation is over, and we need to make sure the Republican Senate stops blocking relief for essential workers, the unemployed, and all of us still coping with the pandemic. 

Every senator needs to hear from constituents on this: Democrats need to hear that constituents are ready to fight to get HEROES passed—and Republicans need to know we won't stand for their obstruction! Will you call your senators, Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally, today to demand they pass the HEROES Act? 

Here's where to call: 

• Sen. Sinema - (202) 224-4521
• Sen. McSally - (202) 224-2235

Congress is back in session after two weeks of vacation, and Republicans are still stalling, even as the coronavirus crisis spirals further out of control and the economy heads toward another cliff. In the two months since the House passed the HEROES Act, there’ve been nearly 2 million confirmed cases and 50,000 more confirmed deaths from COVID-19. Just last week, the U.S. saw a record-setting 77,200 new, confirmed cases in one day alone.¹

It’s urgent the Republican-controlled Senate act today, and it’s urgent all senators hear from their constituents today. Democrats must continue to fight for HEROES, and Republicans must be pressured to act.

Call Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally now and ask them to pass the HEROES Act to protect essential workers and provide essential relief to the people who need it most.

MoveOn's executive director Rahna Epting is in Washington, D.C., today delivering your petition signature with over 2.5 million other MoveOn members signatures, all calling upon the Senate to support essential workers by providing critical COVID-19 relief, hazard pay, and funding. Coronavirus is still raging across the U.S., but the Republican-controlled Senate still hasn’t acted to provide essential workers and our communities with relief.

The country is being ravaged by Republican inaction, and the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis have an especially enormous impact on low-wage frontline workers and Black, brown, Asian American, Indigenous, and migrant communities. It’s urgent the Senate act immediately to provide critical relief for all workers and communities in the U.S.

Call now to demand Sens. Sinema and McSally get back to work right away to pass the HEROES Act before essential programs expire. 

Let’s flood their phone lines so all senators hear this loud and clear: Pass the HEROES Act now.

*Also, see links to their website in the column to the right.

- MoveOn Civic Action 

1. "U.S. reports 77,200 new coronavirus cases, shattering one-day record," CNBC, July 17, 2020

https://act.moveon.org/go/141178?t=9&akid=269223%2E18315738%2EN9z35a

Call Senators: Pass the Heroes Act to protect essential workers

Essential workers are on the front lines of this pandemic, and many are working in high-risk conditions without appropriate equipment, safety standards, compensation, or job protections. Democrats in the House have passed the HEROES Act, which includes an Essential Workers Bill of Rights and direct relief for millions suffering during this crisis, as well as support for state and city governments, the Postal Service, and expanded access to voting.

But now it's up to the Republican-controlled Senate—and all senators need to hear from constituents today so that all Democrats fight for this historic relief package and Republicans feel pressure to act!

Call your senators, Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally, now at 855-912-2982 and ask them to pass the HEROES Act to protect essential workers and provide essential relief to the people who need it most.

You could say this:

 Hi! My name is ____. I'm a constituent in Arizona, and I'm calling to urge you to pass the HEROES Act and include the full Essential Workers Bill of Rights to provide more relief to working people and families, not wealthy CEOs and shareholders. You have a responsibility to ensure ALL essential workers have the protections they need, the rights they are entitled to, and the compensation they deserve.

Today, in Washington, D.C., we're delivering your petition signature with over a million other MoveOn members' signatures to support essential workers. Partnering with Greenpeace, Daily Kos, and Courage Campaign, we've got over 2 million signatures demanding action from senators. We know the House heard us, as they included many of our demands for an Essential Workers Bill of Rights in the HEROES Act. Now we need to keep the pressure up to make sure the Senate follows suit.

Let's flood their inboxes and voicemails so all senators hear it loud and clear: Pass the HEROES Act to get essential workers the protections they need, the rights they are entitled to, and the compensation they deserve.

Call your senators today at 855-912-2982, because essential workers can't wait.

- MoveOn