Patriotic Millionaires: Phase 3.5 Bill “Nowhere Near Enough”
“Just wait until the next bill’ is not good enough anymore”
Washington, DC – This morning, in response to yesterday’s House voted to pass the Senate’s “phase 3.5” coronavirus relief bill, which allocates additional money for small businesses and public health, but fails to include any funding for states and localities, the Post Office, election security, or additional direct cash assistance.
In response to this bill’s shortfalls, Morris Pearl, the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., released the following statement:
“On the same day reported jobless claims rose by another 4.4 million, Congress showed a complete inability to rise to the occasion. This bill does nowhere near enough to respond to the economic impact or the public health impact of the coronavirus crisis. Congress has clearly decided to push the ball further down the road when it comes to additional support for workers and states that is needed.
It is absurd that over a month into a national lockdown, we still do not have universal paid sick leave, forcing essential workers who feel ill to put themselves and everyone around them at risk just to pay their bills.
It is absurd that with virtually every state in the country facing catastrophic budget shortfalls they still do not have adequate support from the federal government.
It is absurd that as bills continue to accumulate for millions without steady streams of income, the federal government is giving no more than a one-time payment of $1200.
It is absurd that with our elections in November direly threatened by this pandemic, we still don’t have universal vote by mail or additional election funding.
‘Just wait until the next bill’ is not good enough anymore. If these are truly legislative priorities for members of Congress, as they should be, they need to start fighting for them.”
For further comments or questions, please contact Sam Quigley at sam@pm-mig.test.
###
About the Patriotic Millionaires
Proud “traitors to their class,” members of the Patriotic Millionaires are high-net worth Americans, business leaders, and investors who are united in their concern about the destabilizing concentration of wealth and power in America. The mission of The Patriotic Millionaires organization is to build a more stable, prosperous, and inclusive nation by promoting public policies based on the “first principles” of equal political representation, a guaranteed living wage for all working citizens, and a fair tax system. You can find out more at http://pm-mig.test/about/
The Patriotic Millionaires have appeared on hundreds of media outlets here and abroad, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the PBS NewsHour, The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and many others. You can find more coverage at http://pm-mig.test/media
###
The Patriotic Millionaires
1701 K St NW
Suite 750
Washington DC 20006 United States