It’s Coronavirus Crunch Time

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act in May to fund a second stimulus check, an extension of the supplemental $600 per week unemployment benefits, provide support for state and local governments and pay the health care workers, police, fire, transportation, EMS, teachers and other vital workers who keep us safe and are in danger of losing their jobs.   

But Mitch “Grim Reaper” McConnell said he’d prefer that states go bankrupt instead, and Senate Republicans proposed cutting that $600 down to $200—promoting the lie that people are turning to “government hand-outs” instead of going back to work. 

As you read this, the Senate and Donald Trump’s negotiators are building roadblocks and pushing for sweetheart deals for the wealthy instead of approving the pandemic relief contained in the HEROES Act. Martha Burk wrote this great column in Ms. Magazine about how McConnell’s stalling will hurt women and essential workers.  

We need the Senate to restore the unemployment benefits, approve the emergency spending and act decisively to protect our health, safety and economic security.  Call your Senators today and tell them to negotiate in good faith. 

How many women have died of COVID-19?  How many women have lost their jobs due to the pandemic?  Don’t know? No one does!  According to this article, sexist and incomplete data are holding back the world’s response. 

And with day-care centers closing or cutting back enrollment and schools switching to remote learning, this article in the Washington Post wonders if the child care crisis will set working women back a generation.  Here’s another view of this urgent problem from the Guardian. 

Time is ticking—towards Congressional action on COVID-19, and towards the election, with less than three months to go. Here’s an intersectional analysis of what’s at stake for women in politics in 2020 from Feminist Majority. 

As we near this critical election, we invite you to join Greater Portland NOW, the Asian American Unity Coalition and Civic Leadership USA for a virtual event “Sisters in Suffrage: Recognizing Diversity” this upcoming Saturday, August 8, 2020. Please join as they discuss diversity in the women’s suffrage movement and the present-day movement for voting rights. Find more information here and register here. 

Finally, here’s a great music video from artists in Chicago and Illinois who got together to raise money for the arts.  Enjoy “Sweet Home Chicago” and stay safe.