Center for Popular Democracy: A Pathway to Citizenship Must Be Included in Reconciliation
Center for Popular Democracy: A Pathway to Citizenship Must Be Included in Reconciliation
For Immediate Release
Monday, September 20, 2021
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For Immediate Release Monday, September 20, 2021
Contact: press@populardemocracy.org
NEW YORK CITY - In response to the Senate Parliamentarian’s ruling on a pathway to citizenship through reconciliation, Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, issued the following statement:
“Immigrants and essential workers are the backbone of our country. They have fed us and taken care of us during the pandemic. In this historic moment, it is our moral imperative to do whatever we can to ensure that immigrants are part of this package. Leadership in the Senate must rise to the occasion and do whatever is needed to ensure that we can honor the sacrifices of immigrants in this country by providing a pathway to citizenship this year. We look forward to marching on Washington, D.C. tomorrow to demand dignity and respect for every person, no matter their status.”
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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.
Center for Popular Democracy Statement on the Supreme Court’s Ruling Striking Down the National Eviction Moratorium
For Immediate Release
Aug. 27, 2021
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For Immediate Release Aug. 27, 2021
Contact: press@populardemocracy.org
“The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the lifesaving eviction moratorium is a devastating blow to tenants across the country. Millions of people are now in danger of losing their homes, putting their lives and their family’s lives at risk as the Delta variant spreads throughout our communities. Over eight million renters are currently behind on rent. With no national and few local protections for families at risk of eviction, millions are at risk of being pushed into homelessness or unsafe housing as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens. The Supreme Court’s decision particularly threatens to harm Black and Brown communities that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and have long experienced racist and discriminatory housing practices.
Congress and the Biden Administration must take immediate action to ensure protections and safe housing for everyone throughout the duration of the pandemic by passing an immediate and universal eviction moratorium until December 2021.”
Below please find additional quotes from leaders in Center for Popular Democracy’s network:
“This is a very sad day. The eviction moratorium was never enough to protect Florida families. It protected certain people and not all renters. It should have provided protection to the average renter, everyone with a mortgage, and people in government housing.
So many families will be forced into shelters and homelessness. The elected officials that allowed this to happen should be ashamed of themselves.” - Bishop Donald Harper, member of Florida Rising and father of seven who was evicted last year
“No Floridian should be evicted in the middle of a pandemic when we have the rent money to keep everyone housed. Elected officials in our backyards, in Tallahassee, and in Washington have the power to prevent a mass eviction crisis with bold and swift action starting right now. Congress must pass a federal moratorium, local, and state leaders must stop all eviction orders and release our rent now.” - Ivanna Gonzalez, Director of Campaigns, Florida Rising
“The decision to end the moratorium without funds that aid working people is a clear-cut sign that we, the people, are not important. How can the government act as if this was a crisis created by tenants? Many of the tenants that are facing eviction are disabled and seniors. Where is the concern about them? Where are they going to go if they are evicted?
There has always been a housing crisis. We the people who are overworked, underpaid and struggling, need to stand up and fight back or this system will continue to make decisions that only cater to big businesses. The actions from this government are truly deplorable and we will not stand for this! We are calling on Congress to act like they care and show us they do by enacting a moratorium to protect tenants and urge landlords to accept funds!”- Apryl Lewis, housing organizer, Action North Carolina
"Quedé devastada, vi en las noticias que habían suspendido la orden y quedé sorprendida. Hay ayudas en los condados y hay gente que no quiere dar tiempo a que el condado apruebe la ayuda y quieren poner a la gente en la calle. Tengo en la mente que tarde o temprano se va armar un caos. Hay familias que todavía no se recuperan del COVID. Se nos hace duro completar la renta. Me siento de verdad bien impactada, no lo esperaba. Ahora las cortes pueden decir que sí, que nos pueden desalojar y sacarnos a todos a la calle con todo y niños. Viene la variante delta, que es peor, y ni vacunas hay para niños todavía. Desalojarnos durante este momento nos pone en extremo riesgo de muerte.” - Karla Rodriguez, member of CASA, Riverdale Park, Maryland
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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.
Center for Popular Democracy Action’s Statement on the Texas Federal Judge’s DACA Decision
Center for Popular Democracy Action’s Statement on the Texas Federal Judge’s DACA Decision
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 19, 2021
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, July 19, 2021
CONTACT: press@populardemocracry.org
On Friday, a federal judge in Texas ruled against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, preventing the approval of initial applications while maintaining current DACA recipients’ ability to renew their protections.
In response, Ana Maria Archila, Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy Action, issued the following statement:
“This decision should be more than the final straw that compels Democrats in Congress to secure a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and immigrant youth, TPS holders, and essential workers including farmworkers through reconciliation.
The creation of DACA by the Obama-Biden administration and its survival through the Trump administration is a testament of the power immigrant youth have built. However, DACA recipients and undocumented immigrants continue to live in uncertainty and precarity, not knowing when their lives could be upended. The time is now for Democrats in Congress to end this limbo and provide the certainty and stability immigrants need to thrive.”
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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.
New Fed Up Campaign Report Reveals Federal Reserve Senior Leadership Remains Overwhelmingly White, Continues to Fall Short in Commitment to Better Represent Country
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2021
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 8, 2021
CONTACT press@populardemocracy.org
NEW YORK, NY — Despite having committed to change, Federal Reserve senior leadership remains overwhelmingly white and shows only slow and uneven signs of any progress of becoming more diverse, a new report from the Center for Popular Democracy’s Fed Up campaign shows. While leaders within the Federal Reserve system have committed to increasing diversity and even launched a conference series about racism and the economy, the report details that little change has actually taken place within the system itself to shift its demographics.
The report, titled Unrepresentative and Unaccountable: 2021 Analysis of Diversity in Federal Reserve Leadership shows that the system’s senior leadership — Fed Governors and Presidents — are 100 percent white and 83 percent white respectively. Among the regional Fed bank Boards of Directors, which play a key role because they select the bank president, 66 percent are white and 56 percent are male, representing another missed opportunity to improve diversity.
The report presents original data that reveals a significant problem with the selection process for the Regional Boards of Directors. Data shows that private banks are taking advantage of a loophole in the rules to name Directors that undermine diversity goals and favor the banking and business sectors. This undermines the Fed’s obligation to understand and represent the interests of the broad public.
“Diversifying the Fed’s leadership isn’t an academic issue” said report co-author Benjamin Dulchin, Director of Fed Up Campaign at Center for Popular Democracy. “The Fed is the most powerful economic policy institution in the country, but it’s also the most insulated from the public that it is supposed to represent. If the leadership doesn’t understand the day-to-day experience of the public, they won’t make the right policy decisions. At the core of their mission, the Fed is constantly balancing the interests of Wall Street with the interests of Main Street. But if the leadership walks and talks like Wall Street, they’ll get it wrong. Fed policy since 1979 shows that pretty clearly.”
The report’s findings include:
There is a shocking lack of diversity of the Fed’s other senior leadership. In 2021, 83 percent of the regional bank presidents are white and 75 percent are male. The Board of Governors is even less representative of the public: In 2021, 100 percent of the governors are white and 67 percent are male.
The regional Fed bank Boards of Directors — which have the key power of appointing the bank president — have a significant problem. In 2021, among the 105 current Fed regional board directors, 75 percent come from the banking or business sectors, 66 percent are white, and 56 percent are male. Women of color are vastly underrepresented and only make up 14 percent of all directors.
Original CPD data shows that, of those directors from the business sector, 76 percent represent a big business and only 24 percent represent a small business. Similarly, a staggering nearly one in ten Fed board directors are currently CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, despite Fortune 500 CEOs making up only 0.0003 percent of the US labor force.
The report concludes that private banks are taking advantage of a loophole in the rules to dominate the regional Fed bank boards. The private banks name the class of directors that represent the private banks. But inexplicably, the private banks are also allowed to name one class of directors that is supposed to represent the public.
The report shows that the private bank class of directors are 100 percent from the banking sector, 92 percent white and 69 percent male. And the public class of directors that are named by the private banks, nearly 70 percent came from the financial and business sectors.
This problem has significant policy implications because the Federal Reserve system is required by statute to understand and represent the interests of the broad public, but if its leadership is overwhelmingly white and from a banking or big-business background, they will fail in this responsibility.
The Federal Reserve has made some commendable gains in diversifying a third class of directors who represent the public and are appointed by the governors.
The report includes a clear call to action for elected representatives to ensure that the Federal Reserve leadership is more closely aligned with the economic interests of communities of color and working families, including Congress considering new legislation to increase transparency and accountability, President Biden committing to nominate candidates for Board of Governor seats who increase racial and gender diversity, and the Federal Reserve itself implementing an entirely new selection process for regional bank presidents and members.
“The boards of directors of the local Fed banks don’t look like the communities they are supposed to understand and represent,” said Terrence James, Outreach and Social Media Coordinator at SPACES in Action. “That’s unacceptable. Diversity is essential at all levels of the Fed’s leadership.”
“Our country is still scrambling to recover from the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and the future of our economy remains uncertain,” said coauthor Maggie Corser, Senior Research Analyst at the Center for Popular Democracy. “The only way for us to build back even stronger is with policy makers who will prioritize the needs of working families. To do so, the decision-makers at the Fed need to reflect the diverse public they are supposed to represent.”
Since 2016, the Center for Popular Democracy’s Fed Up campaign has published comprehensive data on diversity among the Federal Reserve’s leadership. These diversity data have shown a persistent lack of gender, racial and sectoral diversity among the presidents and boards of directors at the twelve Federal Reserve Regional Banks. See here for the full report [LINK].
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Fed Up is a campaign for full employment, rising wages, and a more accountable Federal Reserve, is a coalition of community organizations and labor unions across the country, calling on the Federal Reserve to reform its governance and adopt policies that build a strong economy for the American public.
The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions. CPD strengthens our collective capacity to envision and win an innovative pro- worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda.
New Fed Up Campaign Calls On President Biden and the Federal Reserve To Support Working People’s Economic Interests Over Wall Street’s
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2021
CONTACT press@populardemocracy.org
NEW YORK, N.Y.— Fed Up, a project run by the Center For Popular Democracy, today announced the launch of an aggressive on-the-ground and digital grassroots campaign demanding that President Joe Biden and the leadership of the Federal Reserve ignore the owners of The Wall Street Journal and instead further policies that support a pro-employment economy and working people’s interests. The Fed Up campaign, which will start tomorrow and focus on organizing in six key Federal Reserve regions around the country, will also demand that Joe Biden appoint senior leadership to the Federal Reserve who are committed to the Federal Reserve’s maximum employment mandate.
The campaign was announced hours before Jerome Powell, the Chair of the Federal Reserve, was to appear at today’s Federal Open Market Committee press conference, where he is expected to face a flurry of questions about whether the Federal Reserve should be changing its policies for the economic recovery because of concerns about rising prices.
“The Wall Street Journal is crying that the sky is falling because they are afraid of working people’s wages actually beginning to go up, which happens when unemployment gets low,” said Benjamin Dulchin, Fed Up’s campaign director. “But rising wages are only scary if you care most about corporate profits. The Federal Reserve is supposed to be concerned with the wellbeing of all working people and ensure that the economic recovery continues until it actually helps the communities that need it most. Powell should ignore Rupert Murdoch and keep the focus on a pro-employment economy. And President Biden should make it clear that he will only appoint leaders to the Fed who support a pro-employment economy.”
The Federal Reserve must set its policies by its core “dual mandate”, which requires the central bank to balance the interests of maximizing job growth while also keeping prices stable. Whether the Fed decides to emphasize one side of this dual mandate over the other is both a question of evidence and whether the Fed will err on the side of working people’s economic interests or the interest of Wall Street.
Inflation can become a legitimate problem, but if the Fed declares it a crisis too early and puts the brakes on the economy while millions of people who want to work are still out of a job — as it has done historically and as it did in 2015 when it raised interest rates prematurely — then the Fed is taking away opportunities for generations and trapping people in cycles of poverty. Unemployment hurts all working people, but affects Black and brown communities the most.
More information on Fed Up’s position can be found HERE.
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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.
Letter to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry
May 27th, 2021
The Honorable John...
May 27th, 2021
The Honorable John Kerry Special Presidential Envoy for Climate United States State Department 2201 C Street Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20520
Dear Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry,
We, the undersigned organizations have been encouraged by White House’s dedication to tackling climate change, including by creating the first-ever international climate envoy role(1). That’s why we were alarmed to hear that you have selected private equity titan Mark Gallogly, the co-founder of Centerbridge Partners, for a key role on the White House’s international climate team(2). Gallogly’s appointment threatens to undermine the Biden Administration’s commitments to addressing climate change, environmental justice(3), and reversing fiscal austerity in Puerto Rico(4).
Centerbridge was among the hedge funds that targeted Puerto Rico during an economic crisis to prey on the island. Centerbridge bought up large chunks of Puerto Rican debt at discounts and was a member of a steering committee of the “Ad Hoc” group of hedge funds in a Puerto Rico bankruptcy proceeding(5). This group used their leverage as bondholders to push for devastating austerity measures(6), including spending cuts and a regressive sales tax that hit working people the hardest(7).
While the Puerto Rican debt crisis deepened, and the threat of a debt restructuring loomed, Centerbridge and other so-called “vulture funds” took a more aggressive stance. They demanded payment on their bonds ahead of Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank, and demanded they be repaid in full in the event of a default, putting Puerto Rico into a fiscal vise(8). Centerbridge demanded low taxes on wealthy investors, higher taxes on working people, lower wages, harsh service cuts, and privatization of public schools(9).
Centerbridge also engaged in disaster profiteering in California, where it was at the center of what has been called the “first climate change bankruptcy.” Following the 2018 Camp Fire in California, Centerbridge bought up shares of the beleaguered Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and also bought $200 million in insurance claims(10). Centerbridge also bought stakes in a line of credit for the law firm representing the victims of the PG&E wildfires, raising serious questions on conflicts of interest among many fire victims who were concerned this would give them an edge in the bankruptcy negotiations(11). In the resulting bankruptcy settlement, Centerbridge and other private equity funds ended up receiving a larger cash settlement than the fire victims themselves(12).
It is also deeply troubling that Gallogly would be tapped to lead diplomacy in the Climate Envoy office given Centerbridge’s dirty energy investments, which include Stallion Oilfield Holdings Inc, a production and logistics services company for oil and natural gas exploration(13). a majority stake in Seitel, a firm that provides data to the North American oil and gas industry(14), and HydroChemPSC, a firm providing maintenance services and technology solutions to petrochemical and other energy companies(15).
Prior to co-founding Centerbridge in 2005, Gallogly spent 16 years at Blackstone, where he served on the firm’s management committee, and led the firm’s private equity unit(16). Gallogly’s legacy Blackstone lives on today, as his imprint on the firm is evident. A Wall Street Journal piece announcing Gallogly’s retirement noted that his “influence continues to be felt through a group of Blackstone executives that he helped mentor,” and that four of his mentees now serve on Blackstone’s management committee(17). Like Centerbridge, Blackstone has a track record of disaster profiteering. Blackstone took an ownership stake in Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline(18). Blackstone also bought out oil pipeline operator Tallgrass Energy in 2020(19), owns nearly a half stake in a drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico(20), and invested $2 billion to create Cheniere Energy Partners, which has become the United States’ Liquid Natural Gas exporter(21). In the wake of the subprime crisis, Blackstone took advantage of the economic fallout by purchasing single family homes and securitizing them(22), earning $7 billion before it exited its investment(23). Blackstone’s subsidiary Invitation Homes became the largest single-family-rental company in America, owning 82,500 homes at its peak(24), but whose tenants faced problems of “leaky pipes, vermin, toxic mold, nonfunctioning appliances and months-long waits for repairs,” according to investigative reporting by Reuters(25).
Solving the climate crisis is going to take a coordinated effort across financial regulators internationally, and demands for specific, tangible commitments from private firms. Gallogly’s track record in an industry that pursues profits at the expense of workers and communities makes his appointment to the White House Climate Envoy office deeply troubling. We can’t fix the climate crisis with vulture capitalism. We call on the White House to remove Gallogly from the international climate team.
Sincerely,
Action Center on Race & the Economy Alianza for Progress Churches United For Fair Housing Diáspora en Resistencia Occupy Bergen County NJ Food & Water Watch Businesses for a Livable Climate Colorado Businesses for a Livable Climate Climate Hawks Vote CatholicNetwork US Earth Action New Energy Economy New York Communities for Change Oil Change International RapidShift Network Future Coalition Call to Action Colorado Hedge Clippers Friends of the Earth US Revolving Door Coalition 350 New Orleans Center for Popular Democracy California Businesses for a Livable Climate Construyamos Otro Acuerdo Campaign Wall of Women United North Metro Denver
Endnotes:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/01/27/pres...
https://www.axios.com/kerry-climate-team-mark-gallogly-wall-street-2d08a...
https://academized.com/joe-biden-climate-plan
https://joebiden.com/the-biden-harris-plan-for-recovery-renewal-and-resp...
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-puertorico/puerto-rico-hedge-fund-gr...
https://hedgeclippers.org/hedgepapers-no-17-hedge-fund-billionaires-in-p...
https://www.ft.com/content/6fc34c54-f406-11e4-bd16-00144feab7de#axzz3eaV...; https://hedgeclippers.org/hedgepapers-no-17-hedge-fund-billionaires-in-p....
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-29/munis-meet-milken-as-...
https://hedgeclippers.org/hedgepapers-no-17-hedge-fund-billionaires-in-p...
https://www.kqed.org/news/11813173/attorney-for-pge-fire-victims-funded-...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-30/apollo-centerbridge-b...
https://www.kqed.org/news/11805766/pge-victims-weigh-rare-stock-funded-t... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/business/PGE-bankruptcy-wildfire-vict...
http://littlejohnllc.com/newsitem/stallion-oilfield-holdings-inc-announc...
https://www.stephens.com/globalassets/investment-banking/transaction-pdf...
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171011006062/en/PSC-and-HydroCh...
https://www.wsj.com/articles/centerbridge-co-founder-mark-gallogly-prepa...
https://www.wsj.com/articles/centerbridge-co-founder-mark-gallogly-prepa...
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2017/08/01/dallas-firm-behind...
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tallgrass-energy-m-a-blackstone/tallg...
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-navitas-petrol-blackstone-group/black...
https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Blackstone-Fossil-F...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/magazine/wall-street-landlords.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-21/blackstone-exits-sing...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/magazine/wall-street-landlords.html
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-housing-invitation/
Center for Popular Democracy: Decision Overturning the CDC’s Eviction Moratorium Will Force Millions of Families into Homelessness or Unsafe Housing
For Immediate Release
May 5, 2021
Contact...
For Immediate Release May 5, 2021
Contact: press@populardemocracy.org
“Today’s decision by D.C. District Judge Dabney Friedrich to vacate the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) temporary federal eviction moratorium will cause irreparable harm to millions of families across the country who have been devastated by the economic and global health crisis. Right now, nearly one in seven renters are behind on rent and the eviction moratorium provided temporary relief for families who were on the brink of losing their homes. This ruling has stripped critical housing relief from millions of families and will force them and their children into homelessness or unsafe housing. This decision will remove the precarious safety net that has kept families in their homes and will have long-term consequences for them and their children.
“The Biden administration and Congress must take immediate action to reinstate and expand the eviction moratorium and protect the nearly 10 million people who are behind on rent. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the inequalities in our housing system and the Biden administration must act now to provide long term protections for tenants for the duration of this crisis.
“Our families voted for support and guidance through this pandemic and it is the Biden administration’s responsibility to ensure they continue receiving it.”
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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.
Center for Popular Democracy’s Statement on President Biden’s American Families Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2021
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 28, 2021
CONTACT: press@populardemocracy.org
“Our communities deserve to do more than just survive — we deserve to thrive. People all across the country have engaged the Biden administration at unprecedented levels sharing their struggles and aspirations. Tonight, we see the fruits of this labor with the president’s American Families Plan (AFP). The Center for Popular Democracy commends the historic investments in national childcare, prekindergarten, community college and paid leave. The president’s plan takes important steps to improve the Affordable Care Act and begins reforming unemployment insurance to ease the barriers that keep our families from thriving. We also support the proposals in this plan that raise taxes on the wealthy, Wall Street and big corporations as part of a truly equitable recovery. Most importantly, the AFP serves as a critical next step in moving our communities out of immediate crisis and advancing structural changes to address long-standing racial and gender inequities in our country.
While we celebrate the important progress the AFP represents, there are substantial holes in the plan that persist when it comes to immigrant inclusion and ensuring healthcare for everyone — both of which are crucial to the wellbeing of families across this country. Our neighbors, essential workers, caretakers and the millions of others who carried our country through this pandemic deserve a plan that ensures that every person in our country is able to thrive.
We call on the Biden administration to use the full power of the federal government and every tool at his disposal to help families of all backgrounds rebuild our nation around the needs of the people. These demands include creating a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country — five million of whom are essential workers; dramatically expanding healthcare access and reducing the high cost of prescription drugs; passing the THRIVE Agenda; implementing a federal eviction moratorium and canceling rent for the remainder of the pandemic; outlawing the exploitative and extractive practices of private equity and hedge funds; and lastly, enacting a complete reform to unemployment insurance which has without a doubt served as a critical lifeline for millions of families throughout the pandemic. These issues, which we have historically pushed aside, can no longer be ignored. The Center for Popular Democracy and our network will continue organizing until these needs are met and everyone in our communities are cared for and thriving.”
ABOUT CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY
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.
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Center for Popular Democracy Statement on President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2021
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 31, 2021
CONTACT: Marly Valiente press@populardemocracy.org (201) 838-5457
“Center for Popular Democracy commends President Biden for committing to a once-in-a-generation infrastructure plan to ensure we ‘build back better.’ This bold package starts to address many of the nation’s most intractable problems by creating millions of jobs, accelerating the fight against climate change, promoting racial equity, investing in affordable housing, expanding home and community based care, and strengthening our economy.
However, this legislation is only a first step in rebuilding our nation around the needs of the people. We call on the Biden administration to use the full power of the federal government to further support communities in the United States, Puerto Rico and all territories. This includes reforming unemployment insurance, canceling rent, raising the minimum wage, passing the THRIVE Act and fully enacting the Green New Deal, creating a swift and inclusive pathway to citizenship, and dramatically expanding access to healthcare for everyone.
As multiple crises continue unabated, now is the time for lawmakers to take action. This infrastructure plan is the start of changing the trajectory of this country. We now call on elected officials to build on this legislation and continue this critical work.”
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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.
Center for Popular Democracy Network Statement on the Introduction of the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2021
CONTACT:
Marly Valiente
cpd@fenton.com
(201) 838-5457 ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 18, 2021
CONTACT: Marly Valiente cpd@fenton.com (201) 838-5457
“Today, we celebrate the introduction of the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021 by Representative Nydia Velazquez, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bob Menendez. If passed, the legislation would empower Puerto Ricans with a democratic, just mechanism to determine their own political future.
For over 120 years, Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States. It has extracted wealth from Puerto Rico, persecuted political dissidents, used its land for military testing and treated its people as human guinea pigs for big pharma experiments. More recently, its failed economic policies have left the island suffering through a debt crisis, exacerbating the harms resulting from natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Congress and the Biden-Harris administration now have a historic opportunity to take a serious look at the impact colonialism has had on Puerto Rico and finally change course. The Self-Determination Act provides a clear path to decolonization through self-determination that could put an end to Puerto Rico's colonial status and ensure that its people have a voice in their future. Now is the time for Congress to pass this legislation and take an important step in addressing the human rights abuses that have been inflicted on the island.” ### 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.
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