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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