Multiracial Working Class People Are Rising Up in States Across the Country Led by People’s Action Member Organizations to Urge the Senate to Pass a Comprehensive and Equitable Coronavirus Relief Bill

Contact: Johanna Kichton, 518.867.9928, [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—People’s Action today announced a Week of Action to demand Congress pass a People’s Bailout. COVID-19 infection rates, particularly among Black and Latinx communities, are skyrocketing across the country. Millions of people are being forced to make tough choices like paying for rent or food and staying safe at home or risking their lives to go to work. People’s Action coordinated a Week of Action to urge the Senate to immediately pass a coronavirus relief package as soon as it returns from vacation on July 20. Dozens of events by member organizations will take place across the country this week such as banner drops, car caravans, protests and rallies, phone and text banks, and more. Democratic and Republican senators alike will be held accountable and urged to pass a People’s Bailout.

“The Senate needs to do its job and immediately pass a thorough and robust coronavirus relief package that helps everyone. That means passing a People’s Bailout,” People’s Action National Director of Campaigns Sondra Youdelman said. “We can’t wait any longer. People need to go to the doctor without going bankrupt. People need their rent canceled. People need to eat and provide for their families. And, going forward, people need good jobs that are also good for the planet. If the Senate really wanted to put people and the planet first, they would pass a People’s Bailout now.”

The House passed the HEROES Act two months ago but the Senate has yet to take it up, despite growing economic and health crises. However, the HEROES Act is only a starting point—the COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the need for a true People’s Bailout that includes everyone. This legislation would guarantee health care during the pandemic; cancel rent and end evictions; provide emergency money for the people; extend pandemic unemployment insurance; cancel student debt; and fund green jobs for a just long-term recovery and equitable future. 

About People’s Action

People’s Action is a national network of 40 state and local grassroots, power-building organizations united in fighting for justice. Our organization recently released a vision for a national Homes Guarantee that has already prompted major legislation from champions including U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rashida Tlaib. We operate the largest progressive rural organizing project in the country. Prior to endorsing a candidate for president, we completed a national forum series that included Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, and Andrew Yang. The Nation called our Iowa forum the “most in-depth, people-powered forum” of the 2020 cycle.