Trump, McConnell And Pelosi Are Not Leading America Through This Well At All-- They Should All Retire

Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) stood up for ordinary working families, most of Congress didn't

Talking to me about the impending vote on the bailout Thursday, a former Member of Congress noted that "This is one of those rare occasions when I would say that any progressive in a safe district-- and there are plenty of them-- should have no trouble voting against this bill. It’s just doesn’t do enough, period. A proper bill would:

• Forbid all utility cutoffs,
• Forbid all foreclosures,
• Extend food stamps to everyone with an unemployed person in the household,
• Provide federally funded hospitalization to anyone who isn’t covered by insurance, and
• Extend federal unemployment benefits until unemployment drops below 8%.

"Food, shelter, money, heat and light, medical care. Not that complicated. Cuba has been doing it for 50+ years. And if Neal wanted to add in all his lobbyist paybacks to that, fine.

"This is so crazy. The votes of 35 million unemployed Americans are up for grabs, and the party can’t even feign some clear path to help for them."

Yesterday, only 9 progressive members of Congress stood up to try to stop Pelosi's latest bailout bill:

• Chuy García (D-IL)
• Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
• Ro Khanna (D-CA)
• AOC (D-NY)
• Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
• Mark Pocan (D-WI)
• Katie Porter (D-CA)
• Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)
• Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)

For entirely different reasons than those motivating the progressives, all 184 Republicans, conservative Independent Justin Amash and 4 right-of-center Democrats who often vote with the GOP also voted against the bill. The Democrats joining with the Republicans to try to stop it were Cindy Axne (IA), Abby Finkenauer (IA), Connor Lamb (PA), Haley Stevens (MI) and Abigail Spanberger (VA). This was on the rule to allow the bill to move forward and it passed 207-199.

Before the vote, Rep. Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus-- most of whose members went along with Pelosi and Hoyer on a bill that puts lobbyists ahead of working families-- explained why she was opposing it:

“The historic public health and economic crisis Americans are facing will not end on its own. We must beat the virus. To beat the virus, we must keep people home. To keep people home, we must make sure they get their paycheck, can access their health care and don’t feel pressured to return to work before it’s safe. That’s the only way that we can give the American people real relief and certainty before this crisis gets worse—because if we fail to do so, it will. While this legislation has some good elements, it ultimately fails to match the scale of this crisis. I believe we can and must do better. This is urgent and the American people cannot wait. We must choose differently.”

...“People across every part of the United States are facing an unprecedented crisis-- one that directly impacts their jobs, their health and their daily lives. We have now lost more than 86,000 Americans, almost 30,000 more than we lost during two decades of the Vietnam War. For weeks, I have been clearly and consistently ringing the alarm bells that the next COVID-19 package must deliver real relief and certainty to people and businesses across the country so that they know how they will survive this crisis-- both from health and economic perspectives, which are deeply intertwined.

“At the core, our response from Congress must match the true scale of this devastating crisis. The Heroes Act-- while it contains many important provisions-- simply fails to do that.

“This legislation does not keep workers in their jobs and guarantee the certainty of paychecks. More than 36 million people have filed for unemployment in only eight weeks and a full 40% of households earning less than $40,000 lost a job in March alone. Mass unemployment is a choice and we cannot wait to let the rate of unemployment rise to 40% or 50%, which it will do if we do not act boldly. This is the highest level of unemployment we have seen since the Great Depression and we cannot sit idly by and only offer half measures or let it rise.

“This legislation does not guarantee affordable and accessible health care for everyone. More than 27 million people have lost their health care simply because they lost their job, joining the 87 million people who were already uninsured or underinsured. We are in the midst of a health pandemic that has already taken more than 86,000 lives, with tens of thousands more deaths projected. Now, more than ever, people need to know their access to health care is guaranteed.

“This legislation does not provide enough relief to businesses-- including small, medium and minority-owned businesses-- which are the backbone of our economy. Every day, employers are watching in horror as the businesses they built over years fall by the wayside and shutter permanently. Our businesses and our workers are proud of the work they do and we should be supporting this critical and productive relationship as a first order of business by helping businesses to survive, not pouring more money into things that don’t work. Nor does this legislation do enough to tie funding for states to public health guidelines so that businesses do not have to worry about putting their workers in harm's way and re-opening before it is safe to do so.

“I am also disappointed that, in a last minute change, this legislation includes language that threatens the pensions of regular working people and harms collective bargaining, undermining existing pension plans and exposing retirees to greater risks. At a time when we should be strengthening collective bargaining and worker power, this legislation does the opposite.

“I believe we can and must choose differently. That is why I will vote against this legislation.

“I believe we can and must put forward a legislative package that meets the real needs of my constituents and people across the country who are desperate for Congress to have their backs, to help them get money back in their pockets and give them some certainty about being able to pay their bills and put food on the table. A package that ensures everyone has health care, that helps businesses to survive this crisis and that protects the rights of workers to get the pensions they already earned and were counting on.

“As I was deciding how to vote, I went back and looked at the hundreds of calls and letters that have come in from my constituents. I wanted to know if I could honestly tell them that this bill would help them with the devastation they are facing. I cannot say that it does and so I will vote no and choose differently.

“I choose differently for Adrienne, who lost her paycheck when the pandemic struck and instead of receiving unemployment checks in the mail, receives letters informing her that rent and bills are due. I choose differently for the family of six who lost their paychecks and have yet to receive their stimulus checks. I choose differently for the hair stylist who said they haven’t received unemployment benefits in 13 weeks and the event venue staffer who hasn’t received any in eight.

“I choose differently for so many who not only tell me they lost their jobs and lost their employer-sponsored health care too, but they can’t afford COBRA and have decided to “risk it” instead, while insurance companies scoop up additional subsidies from this package.

“I choose differently for Ellen and Aran, business owners in my district who have written to me about their frustrations with a PPP program that picks winners and losers as they’re forced to lay off workers. I choose differently for those who have called because they are worried about having to return to work before it is safe, and those like Xan who tell me they already have.

“Congress must be honest with ourselves and with our constituents: The historic public health and economic crisis Americans are facing will not end on its own. We must beat the virus. To beat the virus, we must keep people home. To keep people home, we must make sure they get their paycheck, can access their health care and don’t feel pressured to return to work before it’s safe. That’s the only way that we can give the American people real relief and certainty before this crisis gets worse-- because if we fail to do so, it will.

“While this legislation has some good elements, it ultimately fails to match the scale of this crisis. I believe we can and must do better. This is urgent and the American people cannot wait. We must choose differently.”

There underlying legislation itself, H R 6800, the Heroes Act, passed 208-199. One Republican, Peter King (NY) voted for it. All the Democrats who voted against-- other than Pramila, the congresswoman with guts-- it were mostly the bad guys: Dems who always vote with Republicans against working families:

• Cindy Axne (New Dem-IA)
• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)
• Sharice Davids (New Dem-KS)
• Abby Finkenauer (IA)
• Jared Golden (ME)
• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)
• Conor Lamb (PA)
• Elaine Luria (New Dem-VA)
• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)
• Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR)
• Abigail Spanberger (Blue Dog-VA)
• Xochitl Torres Small (Blue Dog-NM)
• Susan Wild (New Dem-PA)

Right after the first vote, Mike Siegel, the progressive running for Congress in the Austin area, called me to talk about it. He said we're lucky to have "strong progressive voices in Congress, including Rep. Jayapal, who continue to fight for a federal response that meets the scale of the COVID-19 crisis. This is a terrible moment for our democracy, when a tiny group of individuals-- who seem out of touch with the real pain and tragedy that millions of Americans are experiencing-- are crafting the legislative agenda, without much substantive input, even from members of their own caucus. Rep. Jayapal and 8 others today took a courageous vote, under tremendous pressure, to delay the House process and allow for improvements to the bill. We don't get many chances to take action, given how infrequently Congress is meeting. Let's put forward a bill we can be proud of-- that speaks to the families struggling to pay rent, to the people who don't have medical care, to the workers in places like Texas who have been ordered back to work, without any guarantee of safe working conditions, under threat of losing whatever meager income they have. If this is a "message bill" as Democratic leadership has indicated, let's send the right message-- that we as Democrats will truly fight for everyone."

Liam O'Mara-- the Riverside County, California-- progressive had an ironic way of looking at it: "It is rare for Congressmember Calvert and I to agree on a vote, but this might be one of them... albeit, for entirely different reasons. The incumbent will surely make the usual noise about hand-outs, and the 'radical left,' and talk about the debt or whatever-- just random noise to cloak his profound ignorance of basic economics and defective moral compass. I would probably have to vote 'no' because the bill does not go nearly far enough. It fails to introduce the wage-subsidies we needed two months ago to prevent catastrophic job-loss. Falling back on unemployment insurance not only plays into Republican rhetoric about Democrats wanting voters 'dependent' on 'hand-outs,' but it also allows massive ripple effects through the economy which will also likely be blamed (incorrectly) on us. It also fails to introduce a basic income, as Ro Khanna, for example, has been advocating. We needed that before the crisis, due to several decades' worth of damage to the real economy and our living standards. But in a pandemic, and with spiraling job losses, it is the difference between security and homelessness, life and death. This bill is a mish-mash of previously attempted legislation, sometimes with little relevance to the pandemic, and Trump's meme army still haven't gotten over the pork in the earlier pandemic bills. Remember-- they don't care about their own hypocrisy, but our voting coalition does care about ours. We don't need more corporate bail-outs, protection for lobbyists, or any of that other junk. What we need is a bill that protects housing, expands health care, stops the job losses, and bails out the American worker and consumer. A bill like this is a dream for right-wing propagandists. It won't pass, but it will be used against us in November."

J.D. Scholten is taking on the worst of the GOP extremists, Steve King (IA-04) and he leveled with us about the bill last night. "Frankly," he said, "this bill is a wish list that will never become law. Even so, these are unprecedented times-- where over 88,000 Americans have died, over 36 million are unemployed, and 27 million may lose their health insurance-- that deserve full-scale relief to those who really need it. This bill doesn’t go far enough to help working, underserved, and rural communities by failing to guarantee paychecks, access to healthcare, protections for frontline workers, a freeze or assistance with rent and mortgage payments, and more. Yet, it does manage to provide tax breaks and carve-outs for the wealthy and those who profit off the suffering of others. Congress shouldn’t pull punches or put corporations and lobbyists first especially when we’re in the middle of an unprecedented, historic public health and economic crisis."

Tom Guild, a progressive candidate in Oklahoma running for a seat held by Kendra Horn, one of the furthest right of all the Blue Dogs. Horn was happy to vote for rule and then against the bill the same day. Tom saw more eye to eye with Pramila and Ro, concerned that "the HEROES ACT fails to protect the paychecks of workers, guarantee families affordable healthcare, provide sufficient relief to all business, and safeguard pensions of working people. As I indicated recently at DWT, CARES 1 was a windfall giveaway to big corporations, Wall Street, and the wealthy. We are still waiting for real people to be the top priority in the proposed HEROES ACT put forth by Speaker Pelosi. The part of the bill that helps the U.S. Postal Service remain financially viable is badly needed, as is the additional funding for state and local governments. There are other good parts of the proposal. But badly needed systemic change that would permanently benefit working people and those who are economically disadvantaged is sorely lacking. Corporate mergers will remain unrestrained. Corporate lobbyists will be unchecked and given favorable consideration. Dark money political groups will be in tall cotton. The dark money groups running dark money ads for my primary opponent will be riding high. More tax cuts for the wealthy to benefit primarily corporate Democratic congressional campaigns, will exacerbate the giant canyon between the wealthy, big corporations, Wall Street, and the rest of us. Wealth and income inequality are already at crisis levels and this legislation will make the problem even more pronounced. There is no progress if we do not take this opportunity to reform health care by moving toward a universal single payer system. Employer based health care is not a right and can be at a moment’s notice taken away by the employer or lost if someone is fired, furloughed or decides to change jobs. Pelosi’s HEROES ACT will waste more money propping up COBRA with giant health insurance corporations and conglomerate pharmaceutical companies laughing all the way to the bank. Congressional Democrats sometimes represent progress for those of us who make up the overwhelming majority of Americans. However, they too often poison the well by unabashedly pursuing a corporatist and elitist agenda that ultimately does more harm than good. What was it that the late Nancy Reagan used to say-- JUST SAY NO!"

Like many progressive candidatess-- since the bill already passed and is now making its way to a Senate debate and vote-- Lisa Ring (GA-01) made a good case about why it should pass there: "The people of my district and across the country are suffering. They are without paychecks, without healthcare, and some, now without jobs. Economic disparity was fully exposed during this pandemic as those with wealth sheltered at home, while those without continued to work at risk, or counted on our government to assist so they too could shelter at home. Considering many folks in GA-01 were living in poverty, or just above it before the virus, COVID-19 exacerbated an already unfair system. Our political leaders fell short of caring for their constituents instead of forcing them to risk the health of themselves and those around them, we must now try to assist in any way possible to repair some of the damage done. This $3 trillion dollar aid package may not have gone far enough, but it was a start. Legislators voting no have now given Senate Republicans even more reinforcement to vote the aid package down instead of providing a force fighting to help people survive this crisis. Millions are currently unemployed and we don't have the luxury of holding out for a bill that gives everyone everything they want. Let's at least give them something and keep pushing on for more."

The Situation Room by Nancy Ohanian