Without action, $600 benefit and eviction shield will expire Friday JULY 24

Pennsylvania Avenue that runs between the White House and the U.S. Capitol is virtually empty of traffic on April 22, in Washington, D.C. Two measures passed by Congress to help Americans facing hardship are set to expire Friday, unless they're extended by lawmakers. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

July 24 (UPI) -- A pair of federal measures that were enacted in the spring to help Americans with financial hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire on Friday.

Congress faces a deadline to extend enhanced federal unemployment benefits, which have given many unemployed an additional $600 per week. The other provision set to expire Friday is a national moratorium that bars landlords from evicting millions of renters in public and federally subsidized housing.

The $600 per week payment was included in March's CARES Act after lawmakers decided state unemployment systems would not be able to process sufficient payouts for the full amount of workers' lost wages.

Congress, which can extend the benefits, is still negotiating a relief bill but lawmakers in the House and Senate remain far apart on a consensus aid package.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that the Republican plan will be "based on approximately 70% wage replacement." Under the GOP plan, the weekly payment would likely decrease to about $200 or $300.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the present incarnation of the GOP bill would fail in the lower chamber.

"If we're going to ratchet that down, it ought to be over time," she said.

RELATED Two-thirds in U.S. have underlying conditions, at risk for severe COVID-19


Pelosi added that she plans to arrive at the bargaining table with "a commitment to the $600."

The Urban Institute estimates that 12.3 million U.S. households, or 30% of renters nationwide, face possible eviction if Congress doesn't extend the eviction moratorium and state-level policies expire.

The moratorium protects renters in federal housing and those who live in homes with federally backed mortgages. Once the measure expires, landlords will be able to issue 30-day notices to vacate and begin filing eviction paperwork by late August.

RELATED U.S. surpasses 4M coronavirus cases since start of pandemic

The House has already passed legislation to create a $100 billion rental assistance fund and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., introduced a housing plan that would bar evictions and foreclosures for a year. It would also give tenants as many as 18 months to make up missed payments.

The Republican plan in the Senate contains no provisions to support either plan.

Cutting UI Benefits by $400 Per Week Will Significantly Harm U.S. Families, Jobs, and Growth

3.4 million fewer jobs will be created over the next year as a result.

The economic shock of COVID-19 was enormous, but the large expansions to the UI system included in the CARES Act of March were incredibly effective in blunting the effect of this shock. (Photo: John Sommers II/Getty Images)

Last month, we estimated the effect of allowing the $600 supplement to weekly unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to lapse at the end of July, as is currently scheduled. We found that this would strip away enough aggregate demand from the economy to slow growth in gross domestic product (GDP) by 3.7% over the next year. This slower growth would result in 5.1 million fewer jobs created over the next year.

Currently Senate Republicans are offering a proposal to reduce this weekly $600 supplement to closer to $200. This is better than allowing the $600 benefit to go all the way to zero, but this would still lead to GDP that was lower by 2.5% a year from now, and, would lead to 3.4 million fewer jobs created over the next year.

These are huge numbers—but they are driven by the fact that the support this extra $600 has given tens of millions of working families is huge. The economic shock of COVID-19 was enormous, but the large expansions to the UI system included in the CARES Act of March were incredibly effective in blunting the effect of this shock. The only problem with these expansions was that they begin running out next week—while the job market remains fundamentally damaged.

Next week (July 30) will see data on growth in GDP for the second quarter of 2020 released. This data is all but guaranteed to show the largest one-quarter collapse in economic growth in U.S. history. The week after that (on August 7), we will see data on job-growth for the month of July. Early indications strongly signal that we lost jobs in July, reversing the last two months gains—which were already wholly insufficient to declare the labor market healthy enough to begin ramping down the generosity of UI benefits. The big constraint on economic growth right now is the spread of the coronavirus. If we allow the $600 supplement to lapse, another huge constraint on growth will be imposed—collapsing incomes for the tens of millions of U.S. families that had to rely on these benefits in recent months.


Josh Bivens is the Research and Policy Director at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
© 2020 Economic Policy Institute

'Going to Lead to Desperation for Millions': Wyden Slams GOP for Leaving Town as Unemployment Benefits Set to Expire
"Republicans move mountains for corporations and special interests, but when it comes to helping workers their message is clear: you're on your own."
Jake Johnson, staff writer


Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the Hart Building on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)


Sen. Ron Wyden excoriated his Republican colleagues in a floor speech Thursday as they prepared to skip town for the weekend without finalizing a plan to extend the $600-per-week boost in unemployment benefits set to expire in just two days, leaving 30 million Americans without a key financial lifeline.

"The lapse that is being forced on this country right now is because Senate Republicans would not step up. The lapse is going to lead to evictions, it's going to lead to hunger, it's going to lead to desperation for millions."
—Sen. Ron Wyden

"Here's the message that I think the folks who are walking on an economic tightrope this weekend need to hear: On this side of the aisle, we've been ready to go for weeks, essentially months," Wyden said, referring to Senate Democrats. "As of this afternoon, with benefits expiring in two days, the other side of the aisle has no piece of legislation on offer."

"They write lots of bills to help multinational corporations, lots of bills to help the powerful and the special interests," said the Oregon Democrat. "But as of this afternoon, there is not a bill to help those folks who this weekend are going to be saying, 'We're not going to be able to make rent in a few days, we're not going to be able to feed our families, not going to be able to pay for the car insurance.'"

Wyden, one of the architects of the $600-per-week unemployment insurance boost, introduced legislation with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on July 1 to extend the enhanced payments until a state's average unemployment rate falls below 11% over a period of three months. The benefit would then be reduced by $100 for every percentage point the unemployment rate falls until it dips below 6%.

Instead of negotiating with Senate Democrats over the unemployment benefits in the weeks before expiration of the $600 weekly payments, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) "actively gave short shrift to the needs of the unemployed," said Wyden.

As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, McConnell laughed off the possibility of passing coronavirus relief legislation by the end of next week. The last unemployment check with the $600 boost is set to go out on Saturday in 49 states and Sunday in New York.

"The pain that working families have this weekend didn't have to happen," the Oregon Democrat said. "The lapse that is being forced on this country right now is because Senate Republicans would not step up... The lapse is going to lead to evictions, it's going to lead to hunger, it's going to lead to desperation for millions of Americans."

Senate Republicans are about to leave town for the weekend and 30 million Americans are just days away from losing their income. Republicans move mountains for corporations and special interests, but when it comes to helping workers their message is clear: you're on your own. pic.twitter.com/imW7TL2X5z
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) July 23, 2020

Senate Republicans were expected to release their coronavirus stimulus package Thursday but were forced to delay the bill until Monday amid intraparty disagreements over key issues, including what to do about the enhanced unemployment benefits.

"Mnuchin and President Trump have said publicly that they want to have the new payments replace roughly '70 percent' of a worker's prior income," the Washington Post reported Friday. "Republican lawmakers have discussed extending the flat payment at about $200-per-week instead of $600 to give the states time to adjust to the new formula and system as part of this plan."

Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, estimated in a blog post Friday that "reducing the enhanced unemployment payments would strip away enough aggregate demand from the economy to slow growth in gross domestic product (GDP) by 3.7% over the next year."

"This slower growth would result in 5.1 million fewer jobs created over the next year," Bivens warned. "The big constraint on economic growth right now is the spread of the coronavirus. If we allow the $600 supplement to lapse, another huge constraint on growth will be imposed—collapsing incomes for the tens of millions of U.S. families that had to rely on these benefits in recent month

GOP Coronavirus Relief Package to Include Romney Bill That Would 'Fast-Track Social Security and Medicare Cuts'
"They will use every opportunity and every crisis—including the mass death and economic carnage from Covid—as cover for their sick desire to destroy our Social Security system."

Jake Johnson, staff writer

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) speaks to reporters as he arrives for the Senate Republicans' weekly lunch on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)


Shortly after publicly ditching one attack on Social Security—the payroll tax cut—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed Thursday that the Republican coronavirus relief package will include legislation sponsored by Sen. Mitt Romney that one advocacy group described as an "equally menacing" threat to the New Deal program.

In a speech on the Senate floor, McConnell touted Romney's TRUST ACT as "a bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Senate Democrats, to help a future Congress evaluate bipartisan proposals for protecting and strengthening the programs that Americans count on."

"In the midst of a catastrophic pandemic, they should be focused on protecting seniors, essential workers, and the unemployed. Instead, they are plotting to use the cover of the pandemic to slash Social Security."
—Nancy Altman, Social Security Works

Ostensibly an effort to "rescue" America's trust fund programs, Romney's bill—first introduced last October with the backing of three Democratic senators—would initiate a secretive process that could result in cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits, a longtime objective of lawmakers like the Utah Republican.

Romney celebrated the inclusion of his bill Thursday and pointed to statements praising the legislation from a slew of right-wing advocacy groups, including the Koch-funded organization Americans for Prosperity.

The Utah Republican's bill currently has 13 Senate co-sponsors, five of whom are members of the Democratic caucus. Last month, as Common Dreams reported, 30 House Democrats joined 30 of their Republican colleagues in endorsing the TRUST Act.

"Donald Trump and his stooges in the Senate can't stop trying to rob us of our Social Security," Alex Lawson, executive director of advocacy group Social Security Works, told Common Dreams in response to McConnell's remarks. "They will use every opportunity and every crisis—including the mass death and economic carnage from Covid—as cover for their sick desire to destroy our Social Security system."

If passed, Romney's bill would give the Treasury Department 45 days to deliver a report to Congress on America's "endangered" trust funds. Congress would then set up one "rescue committee" per trust fund with a mandate to craft legislation that—in the words of Romney's office—"restores solvency and otherwise improves each trust fund program."

Legislation proposed by the committees would receive expedited consideration in the House and Senate—meaning no amendments would be permitted. Any bill would still need 60 votes to clear the upper chamber.

"This would allow benefit cuts to be fast-tracked through Congress," said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "Seniors and people with disabilities need their benefits boosted, not slashed. Like payroll tax cuts, the TRUST Act is bad medicine for everyday Americans struggling to stay financially afloat, especially during the Covid crisis."

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, warned the TRUST ACT is "a way to undermine the economic security of Americans without political accountability."

"Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and all congressional Republicans have made their priorities clear," said Altman. "In the midst of a catastrophic pandemic, they should be focused on protecting seniors, essential workers, and the unemployed. Instead, they are plotting to use the cover of the pandemic to slash Social Security."

"Democrats must stand united," Altman continued, "and unequivocally reject any package that includes the TRUST Act."

BREAKING: Republicans ARE INCLUDING the TRUST Act in their COVID package.

The TRUST Act creates a closed door commission to fast track Social Security and Medicare cuts.

Democrats must stand united against this attack on our earned benefits. https://t.co/lSrcKjZcCW

— SocialSecurityWorks (@SSWorks) July 23, 2020

Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee and co-sponsor of legislation that would expand benefits, called Romney's TRUST Act "a direct assault on Social Security" that must be opposed.

"During a pandemic, people are relying on Social Security now more than ever," Larson said in a statement Thursday. "These are Americans' earned benefits. Cutting them will only further hurt the economy."

As part of their effort to hold Republican lawmakers accountable for pushing Social Security cuts, Social Security Works and Tax March on Thursday launched mobile billboards targeting GOP senators in Iowa, Maine, Arizona, and North Carolina.

We’re in Maine with @taxmarch sending @SenSusanCollins a message:
Hands off Social Security, No Payroll Tax Cut! pic.twitter.com/QoEbFzBW9q
— SocialSecurityWorks (@SSWorks) July 23, 2020

"Senate Republicans are rubber stamps who are happy to raid our Social Security system to please Trump," said Lawson. "We say to both Trump and Senate Republicans: Hands off our earned benefits!"

Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 122k391

U.S. Eyes Building Nuclear Power Plants on the Moon, Mars

BY KEITH RIDLER / AP
JULY 24, 2020 6:54 PM EDT


(BOISE, Idaho) — The U.S. wants to build nuclear power plants that will work on the moon and Mars, and on Friday put out a request for ideas from the private sector on how to do that.

The U.S. Department of Energy put out the formal request to build what it calls a fission surface power system that could allow humans to live for long periods in harsh space environments.

The Idaho National Laboratory, a nuclear research facility in eastern Idaho, the Energy Department and NASA will evaluate the ideas for developing the reactor.

Read more: America Really Does Have a Space Force. We Went Inside to See What It Does

The lab has been leading the way in the U.S. on advanced reactors, some of them micro reactors and others that can operate without water for cooling. Water-cooled nuclear reactors are the vast majority of reactors on Earth.

“Small nuclear reactors can provide the power capability necessary for space exploration missions of interest to the Federal government,” the Energy Department wrote in the notice published Friday.

The Energy Department, NASA and Battelle Energy Alliance, the U.S. contractor that manages the Idaho National Laboratory, plan to hold a government-industry webcast technical meeting in August concerning expectations for the program.

The plan has two phases. The first is developing a reactor design. The second is building a test reactor, a second reactor be sent to the moon, and developing a flight system and lander that can transport the reactor to the moon. The goal is to have a reactor, flight system and lander ready to go by the end of 2026.


The reactor must be able to generate an uninterrupted electricity output of at least 10 kilowatts. The average U.S. residential home, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, uses about 11,000 kilowatt-hours per year. The Energy Department said it would likely take multiple linked reactors to meet power needs on the moon or Mars.
In addition, the reactor cannot weigh more than 7,700 pounds (3,500 kilograms), be able to operate in space, operate mostly autonomously, and run for at least 10 years.

The Energy Department said the reactor is intended to support exploration in the south polar region of the moon. The agency said a specific region on the Martian surface for exploration has not yet been identified.

Edwin Lyman, director of Nuclear Power Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit, said his organization is concerned the parameters of the design and timeline make the most likely reactors those that use highly enriched uranium, which can be made into weapons. Nations have generally been attempting to reduce the amount of enriched uranium being produced for that reason.

“This may drive or start an international space race to build and deploy new types of reactors requiring highly enriched uranium,” he said.

Earlier this week, the United Arab Emirates launched an orbiter to Mars and China launched an orbiter, lander and rover. The U.S. has already landed rovers on the red planet and is planning to send another next week.

Officials say operating a nuclear reactor on the moon would be a first step to building a modified version to operate in the different conditions found on Mars.

“Idaho National Laboratory has a central role in emphasizing the United States’ global leadership in nuclear innovation, with the anticipated demonstration of advanced reactors on the INL site,” John Wagner, associate laboratory director of INL’s Nuclear Science & Technology Directorate, said in a statement. “The prospect of deploying an advanced reactor to the lunar surface is as exciting as it is challenging.”

FAA Orders Active Boeing 737s To Be Inspected For Engine Issues After Coronavirus Storage

The regulator said critical valves have gotten stuck during flights.

Associated Press via CP

WASHINGTON — Safety regulators issued an emergency order directing airlines to inspect and if necessary replace a critical engine part on popular Boeing 737 jets after four reports of engines shutting down during flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration said its order affected about 2,000 twin-engine passenger jets in the United States.

The FAA said operators must inspect any 737 that has been parked for at least seven days or been flown fewer than 11 times since being returned to service because of reports that certain engine valves can become stuck in the open position.

Corrosion of the valves on both engines could lead to a complete loss of power without the ability to restart the engines, forcing pilots to land somewhere other than an airport, the FAA said in the order, dated Thursday.  

NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGESA KLM Boeing 737-700 aircraft is seen during takeoff at Amsterdam Schiphol AMS EHAM International Airport in the Netherlands on July 2, 2020.


Boeing Co. said that with planes being stored or used less often during the coronavirus pandemic, “the valve can be more susceptible to corrosion.” The company said it is providing inspection and parts-replacement help to airplane owners.

Major airlines typically fly their planes several times a day. However, they parked hundreds of planes when the coronavirus pandemic triggered a collapse in air travel this spring and are bringing some of those planes back as passenger traffic has picked up slightly.

Passenger jets have two or more engines, and multiple engine failures are rare — one example was the 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson,” in which US Airways pilots landed their plane on the Hudson River in New York after bird strikes knocked out both engines.

The emergency order applies to versions of the 737 called the NG and Classic, the latter of which are no longer in production but remain in some airline fleets. The directive does not apply to the newer Boeing 737 Max, which has been grounded worldwide since March 2019 after two crashes that killed 346 peop

United States ranks second to last for raising a family: index
The ‘Raising a Family Index’ is comprised of 30 critical statistics
By Alexandra Deabler | Fox News

Parents might be surprised to hear this.

The United States has been ranked among the worst countries in several categories that make up the Raising a Family Index created by research travel site Asher & Lyric, which based its study on six criteria.

The website, which was started by couple Asher Fergusson and Lyric Benson-Fergusson, researched “35 OECD countries (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) to see which are the best for raising a family in 2020,” the infographic shares.


The highest-rated nations were all in Europe – Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, which each getting an A+ final index score. (iStock)

'The “definitive ‘Raising a Family Index’ is comprised of 30 critical statistics from trusted international sources.” Each country is given a score based on these statistics across six categories: safety, happiness, cost, health, education and time. Within those categories, each is broken down into five subcategories to come up with a final grade.

Overall, the United States was the second-worst wealthy nation to raise a family in 2020, failing specifically in safety, cost and time, the website’s data concludes. It was just above Mexico, which was in last place at 35.

“The first time I looked at the data, I was in disbelief,” said co-founder Lyric Benson-Fergusson of the findings to the New York Post.

Where the U.S. faltered, according to the stats, were in criteria such as maternity and paternity leave, vacation days, out-of-pocket health spending, child care costs, homicide and school shootings – the United States was the highest in school shootings, significantly, compared with every other country, with 288 incidents from 2009-2018. The top five countries had zero.

The highest-rated nations were all in Europe – Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland – with each getting an A+ final index score.

The United States did manage to pull a C+ in happiness and education. The happiness score was determined by human freedom index, suicide rates and family income inequality, among others, while education took into account the enrollment rate for students 15-19, 20-24, as well as reading, math and science performance.

Alexandra Deabler is a Lifestyle writer and editor for Fox News.

US ranked among worst countries to raise a family, study says

By Ben Cost

July 23, 2020

Getty Images/iStockphoto

We get an “F” for family.

In case you thought America wasn’t experiencing enough turmoil of late, the United States has been named the second-worst wealthy nation in which to raise a family in 2020, according to new research by travel site Asher & Lyric.

“The first time I looked at the data, I was in disbelief,” co-founder Lyric Benson-Fergusson said of the findings in the “Raising a Family Index” (RAFI).

The Los Angeles-based mother of two started the site with her Aussie husband, Asher Fergusson, to help people “stay safe, healthy, and happy at home and while traveling,” per the website’s description.

To determine the most and least family-friendly countries, the couple rated 35 OECD countries (part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development forum) according to safety, happiness, cost, health, education and time.

The US clocked in at an abysmal 34th place, just ahead of last-place finisher Mexico, whose murder rate jumped to the highest in nearly two years as drug cartels have run amok during the coronavirus lockdown. Leading the pack of overall fam-safe nations were Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

“I think if we, as Americans, are truly honest with ourselves, we might understand why the United States ranks solidly as the second-worst country to raise a family,” said Benson-Fergusson.

Case in point: The red-white-and-blue came in dead last in terms of time — which the RAFI gauged by maternity leave, vacation days and other factors — and cost, as measured by out-of-pocket health spending, cost of living, income ratio and more.

The study noted that the US is the only country that doesn’t require employers to offer maternity leave. Even worse, the average household blows 31.79% of their income on child care compared to the 4 to 10% spent by Scandinavian nations.
Most surprising was America’s global safety rating, which was, according to the research, the second-poorest after Mexico.

Despite statistics showing that reported crimes have been on the decline nationwide, the US homicide rate is still eclipsed only by Mexico, per the research. And America reportedly tops the list in school shootings with a whopping 288 incidents from 2009 to 2018, with Mexico placing second at eight and all other countries recording zero, per the study.

The Land of the Free also came in “fourth-worst” for human rights — here defined broadly across several categories including “protection against enslavement, the right to free speech and the right to education.”

The Fergussons attributed the United States’ nationwide mood dip to record “income disparities,” 20% of Americans suffering from mental health issues each year and a suicide rate that has “increased by 33% between 1999 to 2017.”

“I have come to the heartbreaking conclusion that America is a deeply challenged and troubled country,” Benson-Fergusson lamented. “It doesn’t, and maybe never did, line up with its own ideology.”

“My aspiration is that something will substantially change in my children’s lifetime,” she said.

'For a Greener Future': Omar, Sanders Lead Bill to End Destructive Taxpayer Subsidies for Fossil Fuels

"We need more safe, healthy, good paying jobs—not more corporate polluter giveaways."

by

Eoin Higgins, staff writer

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in Washington, D.C. in June 2019. (Photo: Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Progressive Democrats led by Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday introduced a bill to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and other industry giveaways, calling taxpayer support of the climate-killing business- a counterproductive and dangerous use of federal funds as the climate crisis worsens and Americans suffer through an economic downturn sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's past time we end the billions of taxpayer subsidies to fossil-fuel companies," said Omar, a Minnesota Democrat. "Our focus right now needs to be on getting the American people through this difficult, unprecedented time, not providing giveaways to polluters."

It’s past time we end the billions of taxpayer subsidies to fossil-fuel companies.

Today, @SenSanders, @SenJeffMerkley, @SenMarkey, @RepBarragan, and I introduced a bill to end these harmful giveaways to polluters.
https://t.co/tHYl5TxfQn

— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) July 24, 2020

"Taxpayers provide $15 billion in direct federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry every year," she added. "That ends with this bill."

Omar and Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, were joined in leading the End Polluter Welfare Act (pdf) by Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) as well as Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.). 

"At a time when we are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and an economic decline, it is absurd to provide billions of taxpayer subsidies that pad fossil-fuel companies' already-enormous profits," said Sanders.

"We need more safe, healthy, good paying jobs," he added, "not more corporate polluter giveaways."

Fossil fuels are destroying our planet — yet the federal government gives oil, gas and coal companies nearly $15 BILLION a year in federal subsidies.

Thank you @IlhanMN @SenSanders for introducing a bill to end federal support for this toxic industry!https://t.co/fU1Po5xPIA

— Friends of the Earth (@foe_us) July 24, 2020

The bill would close tax loopholes, end taxpayer-funded subsidies, and bar the use of federal lands for resource extraction and federal funding for fossil fuel research. 

"It is ridiculous that the federal government continues to hand out massive giveaways to antiquated fossil fuel industries that are not only financially risky, but are also destroying our planet," said Merkley.

President Donald Trump's administration has prioritized giveaways to the fossil fuel industry throughout his presidency, including as the pandemic wreaks havoc on the country.

The legislation is co-sponsored in the House by Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Jesús "Chuy" Garcia (D-Ill.), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Joseph Kennedy (D-Mass.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.).

The legislation aims to cut off oil, gas and coal companies reaping billions from federal COVID-19 relief and annual subsidies.https://t.co/4503bBuQV0

— Climate Desk (@ClimateDesk) July 24, 2020

According to a press release from Omar's office, the bill:

would also guarantee the continued solvency of the Black Lung Disability Fund to ensure continued medical care for tens of thousands of working-class Americans who worked hard for decades to provide energy for the nation. Fossil fuel drilling and transportation also disproportionately impact indigenous communities and communities of color, who have long opposed extraction on their land.

Activists and climate advocates like Greenpeace USA climate campaigner Charlie Jiang welcomed the legislation.

"It is outrageous that the federal government has exploited a pandemic to throw even more public money at the industry that created and profited from the climate crisis," said Jiang. "A bill to end giveaways for the fossil fuel industry—which is saddled with debt and recklessly polluting Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities—is long overdue. It's time to shift our investments to protect people on the frontlines of the climate crisis and support fossil fuel workers in the transition to a world beyond fossil fuels."

While the bill faces an uphill battle, it was nonetheless seen as a good sign by Earth Island Institute's International Marine Mammal Project, executive director Mark Palmer said in a statement.

"The fossil fuels industry must change to avoid the worst effects of global warming, which is already upon us," Palmer said. "This legislation is a giant step towards reining in the pollution from oil and gas development, and we wholeheartedly endorse it."

As the country reels from the coronavirus pandemic, said Oil Change International senior campaigner Collin Rees, the bill represents an important readjustment of priorities.

"The End Polluter Welfare Act is critically needed legislation at a pivotal moment," said Rees. "We must stop propping up oil, gas, and coal with public money and invest in the people and communities most impacted by systemic oppression, Covid-19, and the climate crisis."

Markey, who was also a lead sponsor of bicameral Green New Deal legislation along with Ocasio-Cortez, sounded a similar note in comments about the new bill.

"We should be providing support for workers and those affected by Trump's criminally-negligent response to the pandemic—not bailing out the fossil fuel industry and propping up its profit margins," said Markey. "Trump is only trying to add to these decades-long payouts for polluters, when we should be directing our resources to keeping people safe."

Greenpeace USA Applauds the Omar-Sanders End Polluter Welfare Act

WASHINGTON - Today, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the End Polluter Welfare Act, legislation to close tax loopholes and eliminate other federal subsidies for the oil, gas, and coal industries. The bill would also stop the Trump administration from further exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to bail out struggling fossil fuel corporations by preventing banks receiving CARES Act funds from becoming owners of distressed oil and gas assets, blocking the waiving of royalty payments for public oil and gas leases, preventing the storage of private oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and putting a moratorium on new fossil fuel lease sales. 

In response, Greenpeace USA Climate Campaigner Charlie Jiang said: 

“It is outrageous that the federal government has exploited a pandemic to throw even more public money at the industry that created and profited from the climate crisis. A bill to end giveaways for the fossil fuel industry — which is saddled with debt and recklessly polluting Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities — is long overdue. It’s time to shift our investments to protect people on the frontlines of the climate crisis and support fossil fuel workers in the transition to a world beyond fossil fuels.”

###

'This Whole House of Cards Is Gonna Collapse': GOP Shutters Senate With US on Verge of Economic Catastrophe

"The magnitude of suffering this is about to cause is so immense."

by

Eoin Higgins, staff writer

Carlos Ponce joins other demonstrators participating in a protest asking Senators to support the continuation of unemployment benefits on July 16, 2020 in Miami Springs, Florida. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

As Senate Republicans headed home for the weekend without extending unemployment insurance benefits or approving other economic relief programs that could help millions of Americans weather the ongoing financial catastrophe of the coronavirus pandemic, progressives and congressional Democrats warned that disaster is on the horizon.

"This whole house of cards is going to collapse," Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) warned during a press conference Friday afternoon. 

‘This whole house of cards is going to collapse’ — @RepDanKildee explains why Republicans should want to extend unemployment benefits on an economic basis even if they can’t ‘conjure empathy’ for American families pic.twitter.com/7fD9bkCEdQ

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 24, 2020

As Common Dreams reported, the departure of the GOP-controlled Senate for the weekend without a resolution to the benefits questions earned the upper chamber's leadership a harsh rebuke in a speech from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who called the decision by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to recess until Monday unacceptable. 

"The lapse that is being forced on this country right now is because Senate Republicans would not step up," said Wyden. "The lapse is going to lead to evictions, it's going to lead to hunger, it's going to lead to desperation for millions of Americans."

House Democrats took to Twitter to decry their Senate GOP colleagues for abdicating their responsibility to the American people, noting that Republicans found time to vote for a mammoth $740 billion Pentagon budget but failed to approve anything to meet the needs of struggling workers and families.

"Senate Republicans have left Washington without passing the HEROES Act, without proposing their own Covid relief package, and without extending enhanced unemployment benefits for millions," tweeted Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. "But they were able to pass a $740 billion defense budget with no trouble."

McConnell adjourned the Senate for the week without addressing this crucial issue of extending unemployment insurance.

They had time to pass the inflated Pentagon budget but could not bother to address the needs of everyday people laid off due to coronavirus. https://t.co/VLjIi8JMFV

— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) July 24, 2020

Another 1.4 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance. The House extended relief to those who have lost their jobs when it passed the #HeroesAct two months ago. The Senate GOP must stop stalling and pass our legislation. https://t.co/2FxUs6FMGL

— Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) July 24, 2020

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) echoed those concerns and pointed out that the Senate's departure ensures the benefit will run out after next week's claims. 

"The cliff is here and Americans are suffering," said Chu.

Progressive groups like Indivisible are urging members to pressure senators to have a vote on the HEROES Act, which Democrats in the House passed in May, as soon as possible. 

The Heroes Act will save countless lives & ensure working families are able to weather this recession, but Senate Republicans are refusing to act. That’s why we need you to call your Senators and demand that they pass the Heroes Act immediately. https://t.co/kDWnXLIsvc

— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) July 24, 2020

Filmmaker Michael Moore cautioned lawmakers not to let the unemployment benefits lapse lest the country tip into a total economic mess.

"The magnitude of suffering this is about to cause is so immense," said Moore, "they have no idea of how much shit is gonna hit the fan."

Protesters march on Mitch McConnell’s home as he weighs 80% unemployment cut



 July 24, 2020 Igor Derysh, Salon- Commentary


Protesters marched to the Washington home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Wednesday to call for an extension of federal pandemic unemployment benefits before they expire next week.

The protesters were accompanied by a caravan of supporters, including a band on a trailer with a banner reading, “Mitch better have my money,” which is a play on the Rihanna song “B*tch Better Have My Money.”

“What has helped millions of people survive — just barely survive — has been this pandemic unemployment insurance of $600 a week,” Ana Maria Archila, one of the protest organizers, told WJLA. “It is all of our money. They should be giving it to people to survive instead of giving it to corporations that don’t need it.”

The protest was held as Republicans and the White House push to slash the benefit to less than $200 per week, setting up a confrontation with Democrats, who approved a full extension of the $600 enhanced benefits in a House bill passed way back in May.

Republicans have had trouble agreeing on a plan among themselves, and a temporary extension of the benefits through December remains a possibility. The temporary extension would reduce the benefit to only $100 per week, or a cut of more than 80%, CNBC reported. About 30 million Americans currently rely on the benefit to survive.

“Republicans have had months to propose a plan for extending supercharged unemployment benefits, and they still have nothing to offer,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, told NBC News.

The $600-per-week unemployment boost was approved as part of the CARES Act after aging state unemployment systems could not handle distributing millions of payments based on previous salary and only provide about 40% of a worker’s lost wages. Republicans want to slash the benefit, which expires next week, over concerns that it discourages Americans from returning to work at jobs which pay lower wages than the enhanced benefit.

Aside from what that says about the number of low-paying jobs in the U.S., it is also untrue. Though the majority of laid-off workers are receiving an average of 34% more than their previous salary, an analysis by former Treasury Department economist Ernie Tedeschi found “no evidence of any effect” on the labor market from the generous unemployment benefit. In fact, about 70% of the unemployment recipients who returned to work in June went back to jobs which paid less than the benefit.

During a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing on the benefit, the star Republican witness, a small business owner whose workers complained their laid-off colleagues were earning more from unemployment, admitted that he had no trouble getting workers to return.

“I was very happy that no one refused to come back,” he said, “and everybody when I talked to them was in agreement and said, ‘Fine, we’ll see you tomorrow.'”

Many workers simply cannot find a job because job openings are down about a quarter from pre-pandemic levels, and states that reopened too early are now once again shutting down bars, as well as movie theaters, gyms and salons.

While there is an absence of evidence to back the Republican claim that the benefit is a disincentive to workers, a growing body of evidence does show that the generous benefit has helped prop up the U.S. economy during the severe downturn.

An analysis by JPMorgan Chase found that additional spending by unemployment recipients helped alleviate a similar drop in spending by workers still on the job.

Tedeschi, the former Treasury economist, estimated that letting the benefit expire would cause the economy to shrink by 2% and cost the U.S. an additional 1.7 million jobs. Even a partial reduction to $300 per week would shrink the economy by 1% and cost about 800,000 by the end of the year, his analysis showed.

“Almost overnight, their incomes would be cut in half. In states like Arizona, Louisiana, and Mississippi, the typical worker would lose 75% of her benefits,” he wrote. “And in states with large populations of unemployed — states like Nevada that are heavily dependent on industries like tourism — losing the [federal benefit] would be equivalent to losing a tenth of *all* state personal income.”

“These unemployment benefit checks are really doing a large job in propping up spending by these unemployed households,” Joseph Vavra, a University of Chicago economist who has studied the impact of the benefit, told The New York Times.

If they expire, “there’s a good chance that what is now an unemployment problem becomes a foreclosure crisis and eviction crisis,” he added.

Despite evidence suggesting that a cut to the benefit could be catastrophic to the entire economy, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that the goal was to reduce the benefit from around 120% wage replacement to around 70% wage replacement. That would shrink the benefit to less than $200 per week. President Donald Trump called for the benefit to be reduced to $175 per week.

“Many businesses are open,” Mnuchin said. “Many businesses want to hire more people today.”

But there are more than three times as many unemployed people as there are job openings.

“Cutting off the $600 cannot incentivize people to get jobs that aren’t there,” Heidi Shierholz, the former chief economist at the Labor Department who now heads the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, told CNBC.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the cut was “absolutely wrong.”

“The unemployment insurance is absolutely essential, he’s right on that. And if he wants to negotiate some alternative figures, fine, put them on the table. Let’s talk about them,” he told the outlet. “But don’t keep twiddling your thumbs while the American people are burning from a virus and a tanking economy.”

The ‘hypocrisy knows no bounds’: Teachers’ union president slams Trump as he cancels GOP convention while urging schools to reopen
July 24, 2020 By Common Dreams


“It seems the lives of kids and teachers are less important to the president than those of GOP delegates.”

Citing the pandemic that he has downplayed for months, President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly announced that it is “not the right time” to hold the Republican National Convention in August in Florida as planned—moments before he repeated his demand that public schools in the Sunshine State and nationwide reopen even as the coronavirus continues to spread across the country.

As Common Dreams reported last week, teachers in Florida, Arizona, and West Virginia have signaled in recent days that they plan to stage an uprising akin to the Red for Ed movement of 2018, demanding that schools remain closed in the fall because the Republican Party is refusing to federally fund safety measures to ensure teachers, students, and staff members don’t contract Covid-19 at school.

Trump’s insistence on sending the nation’s children and educators into harm’s way while admitting a crowded gathering of GOP leaders, delegates, and voters should be canceled was condemned by American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten.

So it’s too dangerous in Florida to hold a @gop Convention, but not too dangerous in Florida to reopen schools? Kids and teachers safety is less important than @gop delegates? Cmon @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/yGYx4FUMMr
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) July 23, 2020

“The president’s hypocrisy knows no bounds,” Weingarten said in a statement Thursday. “Today he shut down the GOP National Convention in Florida in one breath, while pushing to reopen schools in the next.”

In his statement, Trump cited the National Education Association (NEA), which acknowledged in June that “online learning has never been an effective replacement for in-person learning and support.”

But NEA President Lily Eskelsen García has also forcefully called for federal funding for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other safety protocols in schools, which the CDC recommended this month and which Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) dismissed as “expensive.”

“He’s provided no plan and no funding, and has ignored the health experts. Teachers won’t let him get away with it.”
—Randi Weingarten, AFT

García echoed Weingarten Thursday in a statement that blasted Trump’s misplaced priorities as well as his ongoing disregard for students, teachers, and school staff.

“For months, educators have been begging for tools and resources that will allow us to return to in-person instruction safely while President Trump’s failure of leadership has allowed the pandemic to rage uncontrolled,” Garcia said. “Today he told us it’s too dangerous to hold a political convention but it’s not too dangerous to reopen school buildings.”

The GOP’s convention was set to take place in Jacksonville, Florida, after being moved from North Carolina when state officials objected to the gathering, citing safety concerns.

Florida emerged as a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic earlier this month. Over the past week, the state has seen an average of more than 10,000 new Covid-19 cases per day. More than 5,000 people have died of the disease since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Florida Education Association (FEA) filed a lawsuit this week against the state after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump loyalist, issued an emergency order forcing schools to reopen in less than a month.

“No one wants to be back in a classroom and reopen our [schools] more than educators,” FEA President Fedrick Ingram told CNN. “But we want to do it safely. And we don’t want to put people at risk.”

The push to reopen by Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has been denounced by education advocates as an attempt to weaken the public education system, driving communities toward school voucher programs which pull money from public schools.

As Garcia noted, in the president’s statement Thursday he “doubled down on his threats to withhold federal funding that is desperately needed to reopen school buildings safely and equitably while pushing vouchers that steal scarce money from public schools when they need it the most.”

The president told the press that if a school remains closed, its funding should “follow the student so the parents and families are in control of their own decisions.”

“Students, parents, educators, schools, communities deserve better,” said Garcia.

Weingarten accused Trump as “sowing seeds of chaos and confusion so he can fulfill his and Betsy DeVos’ dream of privatizing and voucherizing public education.”

“He’s provided no plan and no funding, and has ignored the health experts,” the AFT leader said. “Teachers won’t let him get away with it.”

THE GREAT IRONY IS THAT THOSE CALLING TO OPEN SCHOOLS AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE KIDS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL, ARE HOME SCHOOLERS

WHO OPPOSE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SUPPORT CHARTERS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS TO OPPOSE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

SO HOME SCHOOLING IS SO IMPORTANT TO DEVOS AND THE RIGHT WING LOBBY BUT WAIT WE NEED KIDS BACK IN SCHOOL BECAUSE THEY ARE FAILING TO LEARN AT HOME, WITH TWO PARENTS TO TEACH THEM NOT JUST ONE.