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Ofirah Yheskel (yheskelo@dnc.org)Monday, August 2, 2021MESSAGE OF THE DAY 1. President Biden Announces New Actions to Get More Americans Vaccinated and Slow the Spread of the Delta Variant
2. President Biden and Democrats Secure a Deal for Once-in-a-Generation Investment in Our Infrastructure
3. President Biden Takes Historic Steps to Protect Cuban People and Hold Cuban Officials Accountable for Human Rights Violations
4. President Biden’s Economic Plan is Working
5. President Biden and Democrats Deliver Child Tax Credit Boost to American Families
6. Protecting the Right to Vote for All Americans
MESSAGE OF THE DAY1. President Biden Announces New Actions to Get More Americans Vaccinated and Slow the Spread of the Delta Variant We have made significant progress over the past 6 months in our fight against COVID with more than 164 million Americans fully vaccinated, including 80% of seniors and more than 60% of adults.
But the Delta variant is more contagious and more transmissible – and now accounts for more than 80% of COVID cases in the U.S. compared to just 1% two months ago.
We knew this virus was unpredictable, but we have prepared for this and the tools to stop this variant and keep people safe with highly effective, free vaccines for anyone who wants one.
And, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we have provided cities, schools, and businesses, resources they need to prevent this new wave from shutting down our economy.
Last week, the president announced new steps his administration is taking to get more Americans vaccinated and slow the spread of the Delta variant, including:
Expanding the American Rescue Plan tax credit made available in April to small- and medium-sized businesses to help them provide paid time off for vaccinations – reimbursing employers for offering paid leave or time off to their workers. Calling on all state and local governments to give $100 to anyone who gets fully vaccinated, using funding from the American Rescue Plan as financial incentives in the past have helped get more individuals vaccinated. Asking every employee in the 4 million federal workforce to attest to their vaccination status. Anyone who does not attest or is not vaccinated will be required to mask no matter where they are located, test one to two times per week, socially distance, and generally will not be allowed to travel for work. Asking the Defense Department to explore how and when they will add COVID-19 vaccination to the list of required vaccinations for members of the military. This follows the action the VA took earlier in the week, joining hundreds of health care employers in requiring health care providers to be fully vaccinated. Calling on school districts nationwide to host at least one pop-up vaccination clinic in the coming weeks to help get more kids 12 and older vaccinated. And, the administration is directing federal pharmacy program partners to prioritize working with school districts to host vaccination clinics at schools and colleges.
Public health guidance has to change because the virus changes. That’s how infectious diseases work and why we follow the science and public health officials.
President Biden and Democrats Secure a Deal for Once-in-a-Generation Investment in Our Infrastructure
In June, the president stood with Democrats and Republicans at the White House to announce the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework – a bipartisan agreement to make the largest long-term investment in our infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century.
Last week, the president and the bipartisan group of senators announced a deal on the details of that once-in-generation investment in our infrastructure, which the Senate is now taking up for consideration.
The policies agreed to will grow the economy, create good jobs, enhance our competitiveness, and make our economy more sustainable, resilient, and just.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will create good-paying, union jobs – with more than 80% of its funding covered by prevailing wage provisions that require the jobs created by it provide fair wages and benefits.
With the remainder of the President’s Build Back Better Agenda, these investments will add, on average, nearly 2 million jobs per year over the course of the decade, while accelerating America’s path to full employment and increasing labor force participation.
President Biden believes we must invest in our country and our people by creating good jobs, tackling the climate crisis, and sustaining equitable economic growth for decades to come. This deal will deliver progress towards those objectives for working families across the country.
This historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal:
Makes the largest federal investment in public transit. Makes the largest federal investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak. Makes the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. Makes the largest investment in clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in American history, replacing all of the nation’s lead pipes and delivering clean water to millions of families. Ensures every American has access to reliable high-speed internet. Helps us tackle the climate crisis by making the largest investment in clean energy transmission and EV infrastructure in history and electrifying thousands of school and transit buses across the country.
It is paid for through a combination of redirecting unspent emergency relief funds, targeted corporate user fees, the macroeconomic impact of infrastructure investment, and other bipartisan measures.
President Biden promised to work across the aisle to deliver results for working families, and this deal shows we can come together to position American workers, farmers, and businesses to compete and win in the 21st century.
The American people know this will be a game-changer for their lives and our economy, which is why you have seen broad, bipartisan support in numerous polls and a stream of endorsements from the nation’s governors, mayors, business leaders, and major labor unions.
President Biden pledged to be a president not for blue states or red states, but for all Americans. Families across the country have waited so long for these improvements in their lives. President Biden is proud of this deal, and hopes the Senate moves on it quickly to pass it on a bipartisan basis, as well as continue to make progress on his Build Back Better Agenda.
President Biden Takes Historic Steps to Protect Cuban People and Hold Cuban Officials Accountable for Human Rights Violations
Last month, President Biden announced sanctions on Cuban officials, taking unprecedented steps to hold Cuban officials accountable for human rights violations.
This is just the beginning – the United States will continue to sanction individuals responsible for oppression of the Cuban people. The United States stands with the brave Cubans who have taken to the streets to oppose 62 years of repression under a communist regime.
President Biden has unequivocally condemned the mass detentions and sham trials that are unjustly sentencing to prison those who dared to speak out in an effort to intimidate and threaten the Cuban people into silence. The Cuban people have the same right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as all people.
As we hold the Cuban regime accountable, our support for the Cuban people is unwavering and the Biden administration is making sure Cuban Americans are a vital partner in our efforts to provide relief to suffering people on the island.
The Biden-Harris administration is working with civil society organizations and the private sector to provide internet access to the Cuban people that circumvents the regime’s censorship efforts. The administration is reviewing its remittance policy to determine how it can maximize support to the Cuban people. And they are committed to restaffing our embassy in Havana to provide consular services to Cubans and enhance our ability to engage with civil society, while ensuring the safety of U.S. diplomats serving in Cuba.
Advancing human dignity and freedom is a top priority for the Biden-Harris administration, and they will work closely with our partners throughout the region, including the Organization of American States, to pressure the regime to immediately release wrongfully detained political prisoners, restore internet access, and allow the Cuban people to enjoy their fundamental rights.
President Biden’s Economic Plan is Working
Upon taking office, President Biden worked to immediately address the nation’s health and economic crisis by passing the American Rescue Plan. Since inauguration, there has been historic job growth – the most in any president’s first five months.
The average number of new unemployment insurance claims has been cut by half and small business optimism has returned to its 2019 average.
Independent projections from the CBO, the IMF, the Federal Reserve, the World Bank, the OECD, and many others all forecast America this year reaching the highest levels of growth in nearly four decades.
The economy has grown at a 6.4% annualized rate so far this year—far higher than forecasters had predicted at the end of last year.
President Biden has stressed why we need the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and his Build Back Better plan to sustain that growth in the years to come.
Americans from across the political spectrum know that the president’s economic recovery plans will create jobs, increase wages, spur growth, and bring down costs for working families.
While experts believe – and the data show – that most of the price increases we are seeing are expected to be temporary, smart, sustainable investments, with appropriate financing, will increase productivity and output, and reduce costs.
President Biden’s plans will tackle some of the most persistent economic challenges in America. Challenges like rebuilding America’s transportation infrastructure, revitalizing American manufacturing, and reducing the cost of child care and education.
Smart, prudent investments like these will enable more Americans to enter the labor force, increase the supply of goods that consumers want to buy, improve the resiliency of our supply chains, and reduce the costs of producing and getting goods to market.
President Biden and Democrats Deliver Child Tax Credit Boost to American Families
President Biden believes that we need to make historic investments in our kids, our families, and our economic future – because when American families do well, our nation thrives.
Last month, thanks to President Biden’s efforts and the successful passage of the American Rescue Plan, tens of millions of American families covering nearly 60 million children began seeing their much-needed first monthly Child Tax Credit payment hit their bank accounts.
This is a strong example of how President Biden delivers tangible relief for American families: the American Rescue Plan was signed into law on March 11, and just four months after passage, the first monthly child tax credit payments have been delivered and will continue on the 15th of every month this year going forward.
Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, the Child Tax Credit has been expanded, providing hardworking families with more breathing room to cover expenses and pay the bills.
In 2021, the Child Tax Credit has been expanded from $2,000 per child to $3,000 for each child ages 6 to 17 and to $3,600 for each child under age 6.
Eligible families who filed an income tax return in either 2019 or 2020, or who signed up to get an Economic Impact Payment last year, automatically received the first monthly payment.
The expanded Child Tax Credit is one of the largest-ever single-year tax cuts for families with children.
Experts estimate the new Child Tax Credit will cut child poverty by multiples of the historic record. Experts have also estimated that the Child Tax Credit will be the main driver in predictions that the American Rescue Plan could cut child poverty by as much as half.
Treasury estimated that in July, 26.5 million children from the most hard-pressed working families that previously would have received a smaller Child Tax Credit than families with higher earnings now automatically received the full and expanded Child Tax Credit.
The Child Tax Credit means that many Americans struggling to meet basic needs and cover basic expenses can rest calmly knowing they’ll be able to pay the bills and buy groceries at the end of the month.
This should serve as a reminder that we need to focus on helping working middle-class families and not those at the top. It’s time for those at the top to pay their fair share.
The new Child Tax Credit enacted in the American Rescue Plan is only for 2021. That's why President Biden believes that we should extend the new Child Tax Credit for years and years to come, and he is proposing that we do so in his American Families Plan and Build Back Better agenda.
President Biden made it clear that inaction is not an option and Congress must act to pass the Build Back Better agenda.
Protecting the Right to Vote for All Americans
The right to vote is the foundation of democracy. And free and fair elections that reflect the will of the American people must be protected and defended.
But as many Americans, especially people of color, face significant obstacles to the right to vote, we must meet the greatest threat to our democracy since the Civil War.
Denying the right to vote is grounded in autocracy, and it is undemocratic, un-American, and unpatriotic.
Vice President Harris announced a dramatic expansion of the Democratic National Committee’s ‘I Will Vote’ initiative to address and overcome efforts by Republicans across the country to make voting more difficult and burdensome.
The DNC will invest $25 million in voter education, voter protection, targeted voter registration, and technology to make voting more accessible in order and to fight back against Republicans’ unprecedented voter suppression efforts.
With these investments, it’s more than clear the DNC is continuing to lead on matters of voting rights, and that President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Chair Jaime Harrison are putting every available resource into combatting Republican attacks.
These whole-of-party, historic, and groundbreaking investments will help expand the DNC’s Voter Protection and Tech teams to the largest ever assembled.
The DNC’s Voter Protection team will, for the first time, include state-level coverage and analytics capacity, arming the DNC with the resources and staff to protect the right to vote, use the courts to ensure access to the polls, and defend the rights of voters. The DNC’s Tech team will use data and other tools to identify and contact voters affected by suppression efforts and voter roll purges, to ensure that all eligible voters have the information they need to cast a ballot.
The DNC will commit millions to television and digital advertising, especially digital communications, to better educate voters on how to participate — how to register and where and when to vote.
In an effort to reach new and younger voters and diverse constituencies, the DNC will partner with social media creators across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to highlight what President Biden and Democrats have achieved, and what they can do to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot.
The ‘I Will Vote’ expansion will include millions in funding, including with partners, to register voters, a reflection of the Biden-Harris team’s commitment to those who are doing some of the strongest work on the ground in communities that deeply need additional investment.
The onslaught of anti-voter laws are the most egregious attempts to harm the integrity of our democracy since the Civil War, but if we demonstrate the will to save and strengthen our democracy in the best traditions of the country, this can be turned back.
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