Demand Congress use its “power of the purse” to hold Trump accountable
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution says: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”
The President of the United States does not have unlimited authority to decline congressional appropriations and decide what gets funded and by how much depending on his whims and which political adversaries he wants to punish.
By hijacking congressionally appropriated funds, Donald Trump and Elon Musk (and his unqualified, unscreened team) are yanking funding from people and programs in our communities―which will have a real impact on many of our neighbors as they face frozen funding for critical human needs programs that people rely on to survive.
Congress must stand up to stop this lawless power grab.
The #ReliefCan’tWait edition. The U.S. this week set three alarming records. New COVID-19 cases surpassed 200,000 in a single day, hospitalizations reached 100,000, and Wednesday’s death rate was nearly 2,900 – all firsts. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are teetering on an economic cliff. By Dec. 26th, 16 million Americans will have lost unemployment benefits. On New Year’s Eve, the CDC’s eviction moratorium will expire. Other help set to expire as we approach the end of the year: student loan debt relief and some paid family leave.
The Coalition on Human Needs this week urged Congress to quickly approve a COVID-19 relief package, even as millions of Americans face the loss of unemployment benefits as well as a roof over their heads. “This cannot wait,” the letter states. “The eviction moratorium and pandemic unemployment insurance expire by the end of December. COVID-19 cases are surging, with more than 200,000 cases reported on December 2 and hospitals dangerously overstretched.”
James English has a problem. It’s actually a problem many Americans have wanted him to have for many months now. English is one of hundreds upon hundreds of local public health directors across the U.S. who will eventually help distribute COVID-19 vaccines. The challenges in rolling out one or more vaccines, once approved, are breathtaking, immense, and complicated — and they will cost money.
November 25, 2020 Hunger at Thanksgiving edition. Heroic efforts are being made by food banks nationwide to provide food for families who do not have enough to eat. Here’s what they’re up against: more than 25 million people reported during the period from October 28 – November 9 that in…
The nation – indeed, much of the world – is on fire with infection. Here at home, we’ve yet to launch an effective national response to controlling COVID-19. And our economy is in tatters, millions pushed into poverty, essential workers facing racial discrimination, women forced out of the workforce, families struggling to pay for food, meet rent, and cover an array of other expenses from transportation to utilities to healthcare costs. And yet: there are things that those of us in the human needs community can be thankful for as we prepare to observe a very different Thanksgiving than past holidays (Zoomgiving, anyone?).
After almost four years of the Trump Administration, many immigrants in the U.S. feel an intense amount of fear, experience damaging trauma, and face pervasive racism, according to a groundbreaking new report issued by one of the nation’s leading immigrant advocacy groups. The report, entitled Our Stories, Our Futures: The Voices of Immigrant Communities, recently was released by LA RED, Faith in Action’s campaign dedicated to immigrant justice. It is the result of a massive “listening campaign” conducted over the summer that organizers say is unprecedented and will help researchers and advocates alike better understand the experiences and attitudes of both Latinx immigrants and non-Latinx Black immigrants alike.
The Holiday Cliff Edition. Congress will be back home during the Thanksgiving week. So, while there are 36 days from today to the date the last pandemic unemployment checks are sent (December 26), there are only 27 days from when they return. On New Year’s Eve, the eviction moratorium will expire. As we approach Thanksgiving, 26 million adults reported that in the past 7 days, their household sometimes or often did not have enough to eat – 12 percent. Hunger was more frequent in households with children – 16 percent of adults living with children said they did not always have enough to eat in the previous week.
Reyna Gonzalez, a wife, mother, and grandmother, lost her job as a cook at Anaheim Ducks Breakaway Bar and Grill at the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California amid the COVID-19 fallout. She had worked there faithfully for 20 years. She loved her job and worked hard to earn her financial freedom. “To many, my $15-an-hour job may not seem like much,” she told the New York Times. “But it gave me my independence. It allowed me to pay for my house, my car and car insurance. It allowed me to move around, solve my own problems…I don’t like having to apply for government aid.”
Now as COVID-19 cases continue to surge and relief remains elusive, it is even more important that people of color understand just how much is at stake in the U.S. Senate run-offs and feel empowered to participate in the democratic process again. It is unusual for a state to elect two Senators at once, but Georgians will do so because one of the contests is a special election to fill the remaining two years of the previous Senator’s term. With two seats to fill, it is especially vital that everyone take a stand and vote.
The we’re-increasingly-alarmed-yet-a-tad-bit-optimistic edition. COVID-19 is burning through America’s heartland like a California wildfire. Over the past week, there has been an average of 134,078 new cases a day, an increase of 72 percent from the average two weeks earlier. The U.S. may soon see new confirmed cases climb above 200,000 a day – a figure that would have been unfathomable when daily cases peaked at over 70,000 new cases a day last July. In multiple states, hospital officials warned that the current spike is straining resources and sidelining the very staffers needed to care for sick people.
Monica Marling used to work as a waitperson at Avenue Eats in Wheeling, West Virginia. When the pandemic hit, she lost her job, just like millions of others in the service industry. Monica is part of the “shecession.” Millions of women have left the workforce – some because their jobs in the hospitality industry evaporated, but many others, particular those with elementary-school age children, because of children who have to learn virtually at home and due to a lack of affordable childcare.
The we’re-still-counting-votes-and-COVID-cases edition. Even as a record number of Americans cast ballots in Tuesday’s election, COVID-19 cases in the U.S. reached staggering levels. For the first time, we surpassed 100,000 new cases in a single day. Case levels have reached alarming new records in recent days as outbreaks continue to grow across the country. Weekly infection rates reached record levels in nearly half the country in late October. Oklahoma, Kansas, and North Dakota are among the states struggling to handle the onslaught of cases amid shortages of both nurses – who themselves are infected or in quarantine – and ICU beds.
