Community Groups from Puerto Rico and its Diaspora Express Support for the Self-Determination Act of 2020
09.01.2020
Brooklyn, New York - In response to the introduction of the Self-...
09.01.2020
Brooklyn, New York - In response to the introduction of the Self-Determination Act of 2020, Boricuas Unidos Por La Diáspora, Center for Popular Democracy, Construyamos Otro Acuerdo, Diáspora en Resistencia, Diáspora en Acción, Hedge Clippers, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Philly Boricuas and, Vamos en La Diáspora issued the following statement,
“Over the last 122 years, Puerto Rico’s political status has been dictated by economic and military interests that have put greed and imperialism before the well-being of the people of the islands. In that time, Congress has demonstrated little to no interest in addressing this colonial relationship and has enabled destructive power dynamics resulting in an undemocratic, extractive, and oppressive system. As this happened, decades of toothless, lopsided plebiscites have perpetuated the colonial status and have left the island in an economic depression and a humanitarian crisis that has forced more than 15% of its people to leave.
“Last week, Representatives Ocasio-Cortez and Velázquez took an important step to start a serious process of self-determination and decolonization that puts the people of Puerto Rico at the steering wheel. This legislation is not perfect, but we strongly believe that this is a step in the right direction in the ongoing struggle to end the colonial relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States.”
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Letter Requesting a Transparent FOMB Nomination Process
The Honorable Mitch McConnell The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
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The Honorable Mitch McConnell The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Majority Leader Speaker of the House United States Senate United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Charles E. Schumer The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Minority Leader Minority Leader United States Senate United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515
Re: Request for a Transparent Nomination Process of New Members of the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) for Puerto Rico
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy, Majority Leader McConnell, and Minority Leader Schumer:
We write to you as organizations in Puerto Rico and stateside that are deeply concerned about upcoming vacancies at the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) and the impact that a rushed and secretive appointments process would have on the people of Puerto Rico. Given the sweeping authority that this board has over the territory and the serious questions raised by the actions of the current members of the FOMB, we request that Congress pursue a transparent and open FOMB nomination process that ensures that any new member is able to be thoroughly vetted before taking over the role.
Congress, through the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), made the FOMB the fiscal trustee of the Government of Puerto Rico. Over the last few years, the FOMB has forced brutal austerity measures that have further weakened health, educational, and other public infrastructures. Austerity measures have included cuts to Medicaid, cuts to funds for public schools including the University of Puerto Rico, cuts to compensation for public employees, and cuts to municipalities struggling in the wake of natural disasters. These measures have not been successful in paving the way for long-term economic recovery and fiscal health for Puerto Rico; instead, they have resulted in the people of Puerto Rico living in greater precarity during a pandemic, and recurring natural and manmade disasters, with no end in sight.
Moreover, research has revealed that the current members of the board are plagued by conflicts of interest that may have undermined their ability to act in the best interest of the people of Puerto Rico:
Two members of the FOMB, José R. González and Carlos M. García, are former Santander executives who both served as heads of Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank (GDB). Together, these men built Santander Securities, the bank’s municipal bond business, which was a leading bond underwriter during the growth in Puerto Rican public debt. A 2016 report estimated “Santander has participated in the underwriting of $61 billion in Puerto Rican bonds, and as part of these bond issues, $1.1 billion was paid to Santander and others in issuance fees.” As Puerto Rico was falling deeper into debt, Santander used an unscrupulous revolving door scheme to peddle risky financial products like capital appreciation bonds and interest rate swap agreements, designed to maximize profits, all while the people of Puerto Rico suffered. While Santander faces claims from the FOMB for its role in underwriting billions in illegally issued debt, Carlos García faced no consequences for overseeing these transactions during his tenure at both Santander and the GDB.
The Chairman of the FOMB, José B. Carrión, has numerous familial and business ties that represent potential conflicts of interest in his oversight role and fiduciary duties. Concerns over these conflicts arise, for instance, when the FOMB signs off on debt restructuring deals that grant immunity to, or fail to pursue claims against, current or former employees of Mr. Carrión's firm while they served as officers and directors of the GDB. The Carrión family business, namely Popular Inc., has also escaped liability in the FOMB's last-minute attempt to recover fraudulent transfers from a long list of underwriters in over $12 billion of bonds potentially issued illegally.
José R. González was also director of OFG Bancorp, parent company of Oriental Bank and Oriental Financial Services, the bank's municipal bond subsidiary. Oriental likewise escaped liability in the FOMB's last-minute blitz of avoidance actions against underwriters of billions in potentially illegal debt during González's tenure.
As Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently stated in an opinion concerning the appointment of FOMB members, these individuals, “tasked with determining the financial fate of a self-governing Territory, exist in a twilight zone of accountability, neither selected by Puerto Rico itself nor subject to the strictures of the Appointments Clause.” We cannot allow individuals who will be empowered, as Justice Sotomayor stated, with a “freewheeling exercise of control” over the people of Puerto Rico, to be appointed in a rushed and secretive manner.
For these reasons, we request that Congress move forward with a transparent and open FOMB nomination process that ensures that any new member is able to be thoroughly vetted before taking on the role. Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
Action Center on Race and the Economy
Alianza for Progress, Florida
Alianza por Puerto Rico/Massachusetts
Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora
BoriSquad
Cancel the Debt
CASA
Center for Popular Democracy
Construyamos Otro Acuerdo Campaign
Communities United for Fair Housing (CUFFH)
Defend Puerto Rico
Diaspora en Acción
Diáspora en Resistencia
Hedge Clippers
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Little Sis
Make the Road CT
Make the Road NJ
Make the Road NY
Make the Road NV
New York Communities for Change (NYCC)
Power 4 Puerto Rico Coalition
Public Accountability Initiative
ReFund America Project
Harvard Puerto Rico Divestment Campaign
Hispanic Federation
Strong Economy for All
VAMOS
Congress Must Divest the Billion Dollar Police Budget and Invest in Public Education
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06.10.2020
WASHINGTON, DC – On the same day that Congress gathers to discuss legislation to address police violence, accountability, and the health and economic impact of COVID-19, the Center for Popular Democracy Action (CPD Action) released newly updated data from the 2017 report, Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety & Security in our Communities.
The updated data exemplified much of what we already knew to be true - the police continue to receive an astronomical percentage of discretionary funds compared to resources that actually keep communities safe. Police budgets continue to be consistent across diverse geographies and cities in the United States, with up to 20% to 45% of discretionary funds allocated to the violent system. All of the police budgets analyzed in the Freedom to Thrive Report have increased since FY17. New data, however, demonstrates that in the city of Milwaukee, where grassroots demands from groups, like Liberate Milwaukee, have successfully called for divestment, the budget is significantly lower.
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The data, coupled with the most recent national uprisings calling for the defunding of police and for police-free schools, have reinforced the Center for Popular Democracy Action’s demands to local and federal elected officials to permanently end and cease any further appropriation of funding to local law enforcement in any form. CPD Action has sent letters to the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, to ensure that our government commits to defunding the current $100 billion police budget and invest the $305 billion needed as identified by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to support the state revenue shortfalls and new education expenses associated with the pandemic.
The House Judiciary and Senate HELP committees have the power to end infamous programs like Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program immediately. COPS, implemented under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, otherwise known as the 1994 Crime Bill, has proven to be a direct cause of the perpetual cycle of police violence in communities, and most emphatically in schools.
An excerpt from the full letter to Congressional Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee can be read below.
"Recent research directly linked the COPS grant program, COPS in Schools, to decreased graduation rates: “exposure to a three-year federal grant for school police decreases high school graduation rates by approximately 2.5 percent and college enrollment rates by 4 percent.” The prevalence of school-based police has little to do with “crime” and much more to do with how many Black students attend the school."
An excerpt from our full letter, alongside other national organizations to the House Judiciary Committee, outlines:
"The COPS program has directly contributed to the increased size, scope, and role of policing across cities in our country, and subsequently the endless stream of killings and violence perpetrated by law enforcement on Black people particularly. The COVID-19 crisis and accompanying economic loss paired with the brazen and violent behavior of police forces have demonstrated the need for a nationwide reimagining of public safety that does not include further allocation of limited and vital resources to police."
The people of this nation have made a call to defund the police and to dismantle the systems of mass criminalization and incarceration. CPD Action’s ongoing work to redefine public safety, in a country where every person should have the freedom to thrive, targets local, state, and federal policies and budget priorities. Congress must respond to its constituents with policies and budgets that invest in resources that keep communities safe, educated, healthy, and thriving.
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Media Contact: Inarú Meléndez, 413-331-9530, imelendez@populardemocracy.org
www.populardemocracy.org
The Center for Popular Democracy is a national network of more than 50 community organizations dedicated to achieving racial and economic justice through local grassroots organizing. CPD trains and supports leadership, staff, and members to grow base-building organizations to scale and leverage that strength to win cutting-edge policy victories at the federal, state and local level.
Only When We Divest from Policing and Invest in Communities Will Black People Find Real Liberation
Only When We Divest from Policing and Invest in Communities Will Black People Find Real Liberation
05.29.2020
WASHINGTON -- Jennifer Epps-Addison, Network President and Co-Executive Director of Center for Popular Democracy, issued the following...
05.29.2020
WASHINGTON -- Jennifer Epps-Addison, Network President and Co-Executive Director of Center for Popular Democracy, issued the following statement on the events in Minneapolis, Minnesota:
George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Tony McDade. Sean Reed.
These are just a few of the Black people murdered in just the last month because of white supremacy and the pervasive anti-Blackness that permeates every aspect of our society. We mourn them and the countless other victims of state violence and racial terror whose names have not garnered national attention.
Black people have grown weary of this cycle of oppression, violence, and of being told to peacefully reform a system of oppression that is working exactly the way it was designed. We are tired of perpetual fear that we, or someone we love, will be next.
We have seen this before: Anti-Black violence occurs; leaders shake their heads and offer thoughts and prayers; we go to the streets to demand action and accountability but none occurs, only empty rhetoric. It’s time to move beyond rhetoric.
The uprisings in Minneapolis and Louisville are a legitimate and necessary reaction to militarized, aggressive policing, and a criminal justice system that claims more of our people every day without consequence. While recent news that former officer Derek Chauvin will be charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter is welcome, the other three officers are equally as culpable for their lack of action to stop a public execution.
Even if the uprisings secure a conviction of the officers involved, those convictions alone will not deliver the freedom and justice Black communities deserve. The only way for us to win real liberation is to transform our systems by divesting from policing, investing in community-led solutions, and demanding that politicians take concrete legislative action at every level from the City Council to Congress.
Over the last 30 years, at both the national and local levels, governments have dramatically increased their spending on criminalization, policing, and mass incarceration while drastically cutting investments in basic infrastructure and slowing investment in social safety net programs.
Making our communities safer means providing a living wage, increasing access to holistic health services and treatment, educational opportunities, and stable housing, not additional investments in police or prisons.
At the federal level, CPD has endorsed the resolution put forth by Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05), in partnership with Congresswoman Karen Bass (CA-37), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) to condemn police brutality, racial profiling, and the excessive use of force.
At the local level, we ask that those who believe in freedom support Black-led organizations putting their lives at risk to hold police systems to account and working to ensure that the rise in racial terror against Black communities does not persist.
The CPD network is rooted in the belief that through our collective action we can build a world where each and every person has the freedom to thrive. We know that when a new world emerges, it will be birthed by the struggle, labor and love of Black communities. We invite others to join us by giving to organizations that are fighting for freedom on the frontlines right now: Black Visions Collective, Minnesota Freedom Fund, Northstar Health Collective, Reclaim the Block, Unicorn Riot, Just Georgia Coalition, and Louisville Community Bail Fund.
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Media Contact: press@populardemocracy.org
Community Groups from Puerto Rico and its Diaspora Oppose PROMESA 2.0
05.27.2020
San Juan -- In response to the introduction of legislation to amend...
05.27.2020
San Juan -- In response to the introduction of legislation to amend PROMESA, Boricuas Unidos En La Diáspora, Center for Popular Democracy, VAMOS, Construyamos Otro Acuerdo, Diáspora en Resistencia, Diáspora en Acción, Hedge Clippers and Frente Ciudadano por la Auditoría de la Deuda issued the following statement.
“After carefully reviewing the amendments to PROMESA introduced by Representative Grijalva, we continue to oppose the PROMESA legislation and demand its immediate dissolution. We recognize the efforts to improve PROMESA. We believe that efforts to audit and cancel the debt, define essential services, and create transparency are important measures to ensure accountability from the unelected Fiscal Management and Oversight Board (FOMB).
“However, the amendments fail to address the main issue that has brought austerity and suffering to Puerto Rico. The PROMESA 2.0 bill continues to impose an undemocratic fiscal control board on Puerto Rico with the sole purpose of paying Wall Street through a lopsided bankruptcy process. These amendments make the FOMB stronger by providing the board with unrestricted funding and continuing to give power to the FOMB to veto legislation that could allow the government of Puerto Rico to protect essential services. All of this, while perpetuating and exploiting a longstanding colonial relationship with the island.
“We cannot, by any means, support legislation designed to extract wealth from a country that has suffered and continues to suffer from natural and man-made disasters. Puerto Rico does not need more federal control, it needs restructuring efforts, a complete cancelation of its debt, an independent citizen audit to ensure that those that hurt the island are held responsible, a serious relief package, and economic policies that allow Puerto Rico to achieve a fair recovery. We urge Congress to reconsider this bill and to move legislation that supports debt cancelation, the repeal of PROMESA, and the recovery of Puerto Rico.”
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Grassroots Organizations Urge House to Fund Elementary and Secondary Education
05.05.2020
Today, the Center for Popular Democracy, a network of community organizations, released a letter to...
05.05.2020
Today, the Center for Popular Democracy, a network of community organizations, released a letter to the House of Representatives calling for immediate and long-term spending for elementary and secondary education. The letter, signed by 21 organizations including Detroit Action, One Pennsylvania (OnePA), Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC), Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), the Texas Organizing Project (TOP) and the Make the Road network, among others, urges Congress to pass another economic stimulus package that injects funding into state and local authorities for education funding. The letter comes a day before the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor/HHS) Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, "COVID-19 Response."
The latest major spending bill, the CARES Act, allocated $2 trillion dollars, yet less than one percent of that was allocated toward education funding through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor’s Educational Stabilization Fund. Especially given the resource-intensive shift of public education toward distance/online learning, and the expected budgetary shortfall in states and localities, the letter signers note that public education needs deep federal investment in order to survive. The letter acknowledges the important, but small step taken by Congress in passing the CARES Act, but implores Congress to do more.
“Following the Great Recession of 2008/9, Congress provided over $100 billion for education relief funding, yet has only provided $16 billion through the CARES Act. Instead of padding the pockets of Wall Street investors, Congress needs to ensure a huge additional stimulus package with far more funding for education stabilization. Anything less would be to condemn millions of students -- low-income students and students of color in particular, to a schooling system in a worse position than it was following the decade since the Great Recession,” said Dmitri Holtzman, director of education justice campaigns at the Center for Popular Democracy. “We need a spending bill that prioritizes investment in our public education system, at unprecedented levels, to meet the short, medium and long term health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.”
A full copy of the letter is available below.
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May 5, 2020
Representative Bobby Scott
US House of Representatives
Education and Labor Committee
1201 Longworth House Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Honorable Member Bobby Scott and the honorable members of the Education and Labor Committee:
Re: The urgent need for additional immediate and long-term economic stimulus and relief for Elementary and Secondary Education funding.
We are the Center for Popular Democracy, a national network of 53 affiliated grassroots organizations in 131 cities in 34 States, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. On behalf of our members and the communities they represent, we write to you today with an urgent appeal that you ensure that Congress pass a further economic stimulus package, which includes a massive injection of funding for state and local authorities for the purposes of stabilizing education funding.
While we recognize the important steps taken by Congress in passing the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) in March this year, as members of the Education and Labor Committee we are certain you will agree that this funding package alone is wholly insufficient. If there is to be any hope of adequately and equitably managing the health and economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our education and schooling system, hundreds of billions of dollars more will be needed by states and local education authorities over the next few years.
Although the full extent of the economic impact (in the short, medium and long term) of the coronavirus on our education system is yet to be seen, creating much uncertainty, what should be clear and certain is our government’s commitment towards the stabilization of education funding and the protection of our most vulnerable students. In light of this, we wish to highlight the following:
The CARES Act education funding is a drop in the bucket:
The CARES ACT provides $13.5 billion to elementary and secondary schools through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, and an additional $3 billion dollars for education through the Governor’s Education Stabilization Fund. However, this funding falls far below the levels required to ensure adequate and equitable stabilization for K-12 schooling during and beyond the COVID-19 epidemic. In fact, the funding for education under the CARES Act, makes up less than 1% of the $2.2 trillion economic relief package. With respect, this is an unconscionable reflection of the level of priority given to education needs.
The CARES Act funding is wholly insufficient given the the significant costs of continuing education during shelter-in-place orders and the need for unprecedented shifts to distance/online learning during extended school closures, the need for continued and expanded provision of school-based meals programs, the anticipated loss in state revenues (between 15% - 20%) and the likelihood of proposed budget cuts in response to the economic crisis brought about by the pandemic. For example, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recently estimated that state budget shortfalls will ultimately reach about 10% in the current fiscal year and as much as 25% in the 2021 fiscal year (according to current projections).
By way of further example, in 2009, in response to the economic consequences of the Great Recession, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided over $100 billion dollars for education, dwarfing the $16.5 billion currently allocated under the CARES Act. Moreover, before COVID-19, many states had not even recovered to their funding levels prior to the 2008 economic meltdown. Studies have shown that districts and states with the highest-need populations (often poor, Black and brown communities) were the hardest hit by austerity measures adopted in response to the Great Recession. Without a further and massive injection of funds to support education stabilization in the next stimulus package, most states will surely be in an even worse economic position than what they were in the decade following the Great Recession.
While §18008 of the CARES Act provides that: States that receive funding from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund or the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund must maintain education funding for the current and next fiscal year; this requirement can be waived by the US Secretary of Education if states have experienced a “precipitous decline in financial resources.” State revenues have already begun a precipitous decline (and will continue to), and it is impossible to see how they can be expected to maintain current levels of funding for the next two fiscal years on their own.
We need adequate and equitable funding for elementary and secondary education relief and stabilization:
In light of the above, as part of the next unequivocally necessary federal stimulus package, Congress MUST include at least the following if there is to be any hope of adequate and equitable relief for elementary and secondary education in response to the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Congress MUST:
Reject and prevent all funding cuts to public schools and public education.
Allocate a minimum of an additional $175 billion towards the Elementary and Secondary Education Stabilization Fund and the Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund in the next stimulus package: to provide for meals, access to technology and internet services/support for distance learning, and services for special needs students, at least. In addition, Congress should provide directives to facilitate the expansion of broadband internet services in rural areas, where access to internet services are typically less so than in urban cities. Universal, quality and affordable broadband and internet services are indispensable towards the education needs of our communities across the country.
We acknowledge the House plan, introduced by Representative Clyburn and others, to allocate $80 billion for the expansion of access to broadband internet services to rural and low income communities, and support this plan as a step in the necessary direction.Identify specific equity criteria for the use of federal funding for education stabilization.
Make a commitment to fully funding Title I and IDEA Programs in the 2021 fiscal year and thereafter, including a directive towards using a portion of those funds for the expansion of community schools. Title I funding goes to schools with high concentrations of students in poverty and the IDEA provides funding to ensure the proper education of students with disabilities. Both programs are severely underfunded, which harms the education of low-income students, students of color, and students with disabilities. In 2017, Title I funding was short by $33.3 billion and IDEA funding was short by more than $21 billion. Funding shortfalls have resulted in a lack in basic infrastructure needs. The federal government must fulfill its promise to fully fund the education of low-income students and students with disabilities, particularly in this time of crisis.
Provide funding to hire full-time nurses who are equipped with adequate medical supplies in every school. Approximately three million students attend schools with police but no nurses. The federal government should provide grants, especially to Title I schools, to hire full-time nurses. Local organizations have long demanded these basic staffing needs be met to ensure their health and safety, which are now more important there ever given the current crisis.
Create a grant program for local districts to hire more guidance counselors, social workers, and psychologists, equitably targeted to schools in Black, brown, and low-income neighborhoods.
Immediately issue a restriction from using relief funding or funding under the Charter School Program for primarily-virtual charter schools. While virtual schools may seem a viable alternative education provider during the crisis, studies show how ineffective they are. Virtual charter schools led overall to the loss of 72 days of instruction in reading and 180 days of instruction in math over a 180 day school year. Virtual charter schools were also found to provide poor return on public investment, graduate only about half of their students, and often incentivize cutting costs by their administrators. There is currently no mention of virtual charter schools in the regulations for the Charter School Program’s grants. This omission must be replaced by a strict limitation on public funding being used to uphold virtual charter schools.
In April, US Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos announced the allocation of more than $300 million of CARES Act funding towards two grants (Rethink K-12 Education Models Grant and $127.5 million for the Reimagining Workforce Preparation Grant), in a clear attempt to politicize the allocation of federal stimulus funding so as to further her agenda of education privatization. This move is no more than a thinly veiled voucher program and attempt to divest from public education models. This will only further disrupt the road to recovery if left unchecked. Congress must protect further stimulus funding from being used for such a nefarious agenda aimed at undermining the public education system even further.
Redirect federal funds currently used to criminalize and surveille young people into critically needed staffing and infrastructure programs. All federal funding towards criminalizing students must be divested. There are several funding programs that run through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Bureau of Justice Administration and other federal offices which funnel federal dollars to ineffective and criminalizing grant programs. These programs pay for police, metal detectors, military grade equipment and more. There is no substantial evidence that school-based police create a safe school environment, but there is undeniable evidence it leads to an increase in children being funneled into the criminal legal system. During a pandemic, the federal government should not waste money on failed strategies and should instead invest in the supports and resources that truly make our schools and communities safe - nurses, supplies, and food. Congress could redirect some of these funds towards a fund similar to the 2010 Education Jobs Fund, providing funding directly to public school districts to be used only for personnel costs, and could be earmarked for educators, nurses, counselors etc.
Expand funding for Pell Grants by $100 billion over the next ten years to help cover the cost of living for students.
In addition to the prioritization of funding to stabilize elementary and secondary education, in light of the broader economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, we are calling on Congress to also cancel all student debt.
Cancel ALL Student Debt: The student debt provisions in the CARES Act left out nine million student loan borrowers, were overly complex and unworkable and, in some cases, provided regressive tax giveaways that would only benefit the highest income borrowers. In order to provide relief to the millions of families saddled with unbearable student debt, we must:
Cancel all federal student debt. This is debt owed TO the federal government, and immediate cancellation is easy to administer and would provide immediate relief to families in crisis.
Halt involuntary collections, social security or tax refund seizures, wage or federal wage garnishments for all student loan borrowers in default.
Extend the suspension on payments and waiving of interest outlined to all borrowers, not just those with federally-held loans.
Remove the temporary income tax exclusion for employer-paid student loans. Ensure any emergency relief funds received by for-profit colleges are subject to bans on using them for executive compensation or advertising.
Ensure no one who consolidated to become eligible for relief ends up with an increased loan balance and clarify that no interest will capitalize.
US Education Secretary, Besty DeVos, recently excluded undocumented students from receiving financial support through the CARES Act. Congress must prevent such unconscionable action in future and ensure that undocumented students are specifically included in all further education relief and stimulus funding and federal support.
Honorable member Bobby Scott and honorable members of the Education and Labor Committee, we thank you for your previous efforts to prioritize education needs in the first stimulus package. But, we implore you and Congress to do more.
We trust that you receive this letter with the urgency it deserves, and look forward to further engagement with you as the committee and as individual congressional representatives to whom our members across the country are calling on to do what is needed, and nothing less.
Signed, representatives from the following organizations:
Arkansas Community Organizations (ACO)
Detroit Action
Florida Student Power Network (FLSPN)
Future of Tomorrow (FOT)
Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO)
Latinos Unidos Siempre (LUS)
Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT)
Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA)
Make the Road Connecticut (MTRCT)
Make The Road Nevada (MTRNV)
Make The Road New Jersey (MTRNJ)
Make The Road New York (MTRNY)
Make The Road Pennsylvania (MTRPA)
Maryland Communities United (MCU)
One Pennsylvania (OnePA)
Our Future West Virginia (OFWV)
Rights & Democracy (RAD) - New Hampshire and Vermont
Sistas and Brothas United (SBU)
Step Up Louisiana (Step Up LA)
Texas Organizing Project (TOP)
Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC)
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Statement: Ana Maria Archila Responds to Biden Sexual Assault Allegations
05.01.2020
In the early fall of 2018, the Center for Popular Democracy joined with partner...
05.01.2020
In the early fall of 2018, the Center for Popular Democracy joined with partner organizations in the nation’s capital to protest the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, who was poised to be confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States, despite allegations of sexual assault in his past. As a part of those protests, Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, had what was to become a viral confrontation with Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator, in which she and a fellow activist shared their stories of sexual assault and asked Flake to vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh.
Below is a statement from Archila, addressing how she, as a survivor, an organizer, and the co-executive director of CPD is responding to Tara Reade’s allegations against Joe Biden and his appearance in MSNBC’s Morning Joe:
“As someone who helped organize the protests against Brett Kavanaugh, I know that what initially animated me, and the many thousands who joined, was an understanding that Kavanaugh’s presence on the Supreme Court posed a grave threat to the rights of women, LGBTQ families, workers, communities of color and our democracy. When Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s story surfaced, we also understood that if Kavanaugh were confirmed to the highest court of the land, it would reaffirm a culture that enables sexual violence by minimizing the experiences women, and especially of survivors, and prioritizing the interests and life story of the men accused.
“Now Joe Biden stands accused. This morning he spoke for the first time about the allegations by Tara Reade, and issued yet another blanket denial of the assault, without any reflections on how women, and survivors of all genders, are treated in our society. As someone seeking to govern the country, he has a responsibility to model how to hold the pain of survivors and speak about the reality of our collective experience, even as he denies the allegations against him. That is the role of a leader.
“When thousands of survivors told their stories in solidarity with Dr. Blasey Ford, we did so to help our leaders understand that this was not about the experience of just one woman, but a collective story of who we are as a country. In order to transform our society into one where women and gender non-conforming people are treated as equals, the stories of survivors must be taken seriously and received with empathy, not a collective shrug. That’s what “believe survivors” means.
“Those who are accused of perpetuating or enabling violence have a role to play in the effort to transform our society. They can model how to receive with empathy and circumspection the stories of individuals or communities who speak about the harm they have endured. They can model how to tease out from the story of one person the elements of our collective experience, and they can model willingness to take responsibility. This approach is necessary not just to end sexual violence, but to adress the collective and generational harm of racism, xenophobia and more.
“Our country is at a moment of grave danger. President Trump’s racism and xenophobia has caused serious harm to millions of people, and his administration’s inept handling of the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in the deaths of thousands. We cannot afford to have four more years of Trump, and we will do everything necessary to defeat him in November.
“Demanding more of Joe Biden’s leadership is not in contradiction with our commitment to defeat Trump. It is, in fact, central to that effort.”
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
House Leadership Commits to Progressive Relief Package
04.24.2020
WASHINGTON -- In a call with members of over a dozen progressive...
04.24.2020
WASHINGTON -- In a call with members of over a dozen progressive organizations, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and U.S. Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) committed to passing legislation through the House that puts people first. They listened as immigrant small business owners spoke about having to close up shop, frontline workers told stories of showing up at work without protective equipment, and people who lost their jobs spoke about being unable to pay rent.
Link to the full forum is available here.
When asked about the timeline for introduction for the next package, Clyburn said: “I can’t tell you when the bill will head to the floor, but I can tell you what we are working on to get in the bill. I will tell you that the bill is already written.”
He indicated a number of priorities for the spending package, including: $65 billion for community health centers and $82 billion for 100 percent broadband across the country. He said that the $400 million for election protection from the CARES Act was insufficient, and that he would advocate for $1.8 billion for vote by mail in the next package, citing “I don’t think this President plans to have an election at all. He will do everything he can to circumvent people going to the polls in November.” He discussed resources to “restructure the health care system” and provide for widespread testing.
Jeffries said that the scale of the response should be directed to the people who have been hit the hardest, and noted that was the priority for “CARES 2.0,” which would originate in the House.
Ayanna Pressley said that we need a bill that puts people first, but noted the importance for public pressure for legislation to truly bail out the people. She committed to legislation that cancels student debt; cancels rent and mortgage for residential and commercial properties; provides direct cash assistance; and includes people regardless of immigration status. She added: “This is a matter of life and death and we need to act like it.”
Tlaib discussed the disconnect between many of her peers in Congress and people who are living paycheck to paycheck, citing “our children don’t have lobbyists.” Tlaib discussed getting $2,000 per month to all people through a debit card, regardless of age and immigration status and for the duration of the crisis, and ensure that water is a human right. “We do more for corporations every single day. It’s time for us to do more for people.”
García acknowledged that he “reluctantly voted” for the bill yesterday because it provides money for small businesses and hospitals, and provides useful data, but admitted that it was not enough to provide support for the people who need it most. He noted the importance of funding for democracy in the next package, saying that funding for vote by mail should be expanded nationwide.
Democrats have received criticism from progressive groups for the most recent spending package, indicating that the relief packages thus far have left the country’s most vulnerable out. Despite the widespread pain across the country, Black and Latinx people are suffering and dying disproportionately. Immigrants, despite holding many frontline jobs, were cut out of all previous relief packages.
The dozen progressive groups sponsoring the event held Clyburn, García, Jeffries, Tlaib and House Democrats to the following priorities:
1. Health is the top priority, for all people, with no exceptions
2. Economic relief must be provided directly to the people
3. Rescue workers and communities, not corporate executives.
4. Make a downpayment on a regenerative economy while preventing future crises
5. Protect our democratic process while protecting each other
Speakers shared their stories and made the case for each portion of the agenda.
Provide economic relief directly to people
Julissa Bisono, associate director of organizing at Make the Road New York
“My neighbors are dying. I get daily calls from neighbors and our members who have lost loved ones. Our organization, Make the Road New York, has lost more than 30 of our members, clients, and adult education students. Two weeks ago, I lost my uncle. The stimulus bills so far have excluded most of our members and my family members and neighbors. Because they’re undocumented, they cannot get the cash assistance, and they cannot get Unemployment Insurance. And the government has done nothing to cancel the rent or provide debt relief for anyone in our community.”
Jonny, a housekeeper and member of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
"As a housecleaner, I am an essential worker and have always been an essential worker. All domestic workers have always been essential, even before this pandemic. Our work makes all other work possible. We need direct cash assistance now."
Tabatha Yelós, People’s Action member and organizer with Ground Game Los Angeles
“I was one of the millions of Americans that did not pay rent in April and will be one of the millions of Americans that will not pay rent in May. My story, and the story of many of my neighbors, proves that by choosing to offer aid to employers and large corporations, the government has chosen to leave out too many Americans, including its own employees.”
Sara Castro, an organizer with Student Action’s Student Debt Campaign
“The full cancellation of student debt is not just a student issue, for the 43 million of us who need the relief now and is necessary for us to get through and recover from this crisis.”
Rescue workers and communities, not corporate executives
Zaid Consuegra Sauza, a DACA recipient and restaurant owner in Kansas City, Missouri
“COVID-19 came right before the spring, as most restaurants are dependent on strong earnings from Spring and Summer to secure a good fiscal year. Right now, our rent has been suspended, and we’re paying minimum payments on our utility bills to keep the accounts open. Unfortunately, I had to make the difficult decision to temporarily close, due to the loss of traffic. I'm personally not taking in any income, and I wasn’t able to keep my crew on payroll. We gave out the perishable food to our employees. Now a month later I’m relying on friends, family and strangers to cover my necessities. Congress must pass federal aid that helps all people, including undocumented people like me, such as the Paycheck Guarantee Act. Programs like this would allow small businesses like mine to keep our employees on payroll, with 100% of the costs covered by grants from the federal government.”
Melissa Love, a Walmart warehouse worker and member of United for Respect
“Like so many other people who work on the frontlines at grocery stores, retail and warehouses, staying home and not working is not an option for me. I have to be face to face with the virus, by being around customers or associates who are unknowingly a carrier of the virus. This increases fear in not only me, but also in my associates,” said. “If change is going to happen it needs to come from the company and from Congress, and above all, from all of us coming together to fight for it.”
Ramona DeLoera, a farmworker and member of Justice for Migrant Women
“The farmworkers in my community are lining up at food banks and are being turned away because there is not enough food for everyone. But we see in the news and hear about farms throwing food away or letting them rot in the fields because they don’t have businesses to sell them to. I want Congress to include support for farmworkers in the next relief bill. We are risking our health and our lives to keep food on the tables and in grocery stores for other families across this country. And yet, we are struggling to feed our own families.”
Health is a top priority for all people, with no exceptions
Robert Laurence, an independent contractor and member of the Texas Organizing Project
“I don't know how I'll be able to pay my rent, car payment, my school debt, or the many other bills I have coming up. I am also considered high risk since I don't have money to be vaccinated or have treatment. We need healthcare coverage, cancelation of rent, debt, and an economic bailout for all the working families in America.”
Noemi Romero, member of Puente Arizona and Mijente
“In 2013, I was detained at one of Arpaio’s work raids. I was detained in the county jail for two months and then transferred to Eloy Detention Center, where I was detained for another month. For this reason today I advocate for others still incarcerated and more than ever now with this pandemic going on. I’ve experienced the non-living conditions inside the old moldy walls, the cheap soap smaller than a travel size that does not lather. That is why today I ask our elected officials to take action and release our loved ones from these cages, they are one of the vulnerable communities.”
Dalia Cruz, laboratory essential worker and member of CASA Pennsylvania
“Both my undocumented husband and myself are essential workers. We are both thankful to this land and the opportunity that we have been given in working and raising our children here but it is hard to keep working knowing that our lives are not being valued, nor respected. Every day, my husband and I have to decide to put not just our lives at risk but also our children’s. Every day we have to decide between our lives or food on our table. Every day we have to decide if all this effort is worth it when the message that we keep hearing from this administration is that we don’t belong here.”
Protect our democratic process, while protecting each other
Joe Maldonado, Councilmember from Fitchburg, Wisconsin and a member of the Working Families Party
“This should not be on the city of Fitchburg to look under the couch to find the resources to administer elections safely. We need the government to step in and make sure that cities and municipalities have fair elections.”
Make a downpayment on a regenerative economy while preventing future crises
Dallas Goldtooth, a climate organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network
“The Navajo nation is one of the places hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. Congress needs to recognize that climate change and climate justice are central to this crisis. We need a regenerative economy in indigenous communities. We have to stop ignoring that the climate crisis is fueling the inequities in our society.”
Rev. Mike Atty, executive director of United Congregations of Metro-East, a partner of the Sierra Club
“The COVID-19 crisis has hurt our efforts to address climate change and the economic crises that worsen it. We need the federal government to invest in clean, green, equitable job creation in our communities.”
Ezra Levin, Co-Executive Director of the Indivisible Project
"We are living through a time of national trauma that demands empathy and expertise and rapid response. We’ve got one party that controls the Presidency and Senate, with no compassion for human suffering and no basic competence. That’s why we need Democrats to fight back against this like they fought back against TrumpCare and the Trump Tax Scam in 2017. We helped build the largest midterm margins in American history in 2018 precisely to give Democrats power to negotiate in times like this."
The forum was sponsored by Be a Hero, Center for Popular Democracy, Community Change, Dream Defenders, Indivisible, Main Street Alliance, Mijente, MoveOn, National Domestic Workers Alliance, People’s Action, She the People, United for Respect, United We Dream and the Working Families Party.
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
Progressives Outraged with Latest Coronavirus Relief Bill
04.21.2020
WASHINGTON -- In response to the Senate passing a relief bill today, Ana...
04.21.2020
WASHINGTON -- In response to the Senate passing a relief bill today, Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, released the following statement:
"Today, the Senate passed a relief bill that falls woefully short of what our country needs. People are waiting in line for hours at food banks, tens of millions of people have lost their health care and source of income. They have less than two weeks to get the help they need before the rent is due. Yet instead of prioritizing relief for the people who need it the most, and the communities and workers that are hardest hit by this crisis, Republicans and Democrats passed a bill that falls short of addressing the scope of the problem.
“We need Democrats to fight for people and communities, and meet the magnitude of people’s suffering with a vigorous and urgent effort to put money in people’s hands right now. They need to call out Trump's scapegoating of immigrants for what it is: an effort to distract the American public from his inept management of this crisis. It is more important than ever for Democrats to build a response that centers the needs of Black and Brown communities who are disproportionately suffering and dying, essential workers who are risking their lives unprotected, unemployed people and the uninsured, unhoused people and renters, immigrants, and people surviving paycheck to paycheck and foodbank to foodbank. Democrats must be the party of the people and demand the relief on a scale that reaches and takes care of the most vulnerable communities. We will only get out of this crisis when essential workers have what they need, and when every family can access health care, food and shelter.
“Today’s deal fails on every measure, and we oppose these kinds of half-measures. People deserve, and desperately need, real relief right now. Congress must fulfill its critical role in bringing a recovery for all.”
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
Wisconsin Elections Nothing Short of Devastation
04.07.2020
MILWAUKEE -- In response to Wisconsin holding elections today amidst a...
04.07.2020
MILWAUKEE -- In response to Wisconsin holding elections today amidst a global pandemic, Emma Greenman, Director of Voting Rights and Democracy at the Center for Popular Democracy released the following statement:
“Today’s primary election in Wisconsin is a reflection of what happens when state lawmakers refuse to act to protect the basic function of our democracy during a pandemic. This is not a partisan issue -- in a functioning democracy, no voter should have to choose between casting a ballot and their personal safety.
“But that is exactly what is happening today in Wisconsin. In defiance of public health and voting rights experts, the Republican-controled state legislature refused common sense measures to keep people safe during this election.They refused to ensure every registered voter got access to a ballot. They refused to ensure that every voter who requested a ballot would receive and be able to safely cast that ballot. And they refused to allow the state the time it needed to make voting safe in the midst of a global pandemic.
“This democracy crisis will impact every voter and every community, but as with COVID-19, the crisis of democracy exacerbates existing racial inequality in our system. In Milwaukee county, where Black people make up 26 percent of the population and 81 percent of the deaths from the virus, there were only five polling places open. Black voters in Wisconsin who were already disproportionately impacted by Wisconsin’s voter ID law were further disenfranchised today. For communities of color and other vulnerable communities, the failure to protect voters from the impacts of COVID-19 compounds the existing barriers to the ballot.
“There are countless stories on the ground of voters and election volunteers making the agonizing choice between the virus and the vote. Today, it’s Wisconsin. But come November, this is what Election Day in states across the country could look like if lawmakers -- of both parties -- do not urgently act to ensure state voting laws, election administration practices, and local resources meet the needs to protect every vote while keeping voters and communities safe during this pandemic. Congress must act to provide states the additional $2.6 billion in funding they need to protect voters and run safe elections in November. Our democracy depends on it.”
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
8 days ago
8 days ago