FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2020
Contact: Emily Phelps| press@indivisible.org
Washington, DC — Today, Mary Small, acting National Policy Director of the Indivisible Project, issued the following statement after Congress passed a continuing resolution, allowing an additional week for parties to negotiate a COVID-relief package before the end of the year:
"It has been over 8 months since the Republican Senate last acted to provide economic relief for families, workers, and communities hurting due to this pandemic. The virus is surging in every state and nearly 292,700 lives have been lost. Without additional aid, many workers will continue to face the impossible choice of losing their incomes or showing up to unsafe jobs and risking exposure to COVID-19. Unfortunately, we’ve seen many large corporations leverage that power over workers by refusing to comply with even the most basic safety protocols with disastrous results for public health. These companies have made every effort to insulate their bottom line, but have neglected their workers and communities. Congress must not reward -- or worse, protect -- corporations engaging in reckless endangerment of lives.
“Indivisible stands firm that passing an adequate relief package for those hurt most by this pandemic should be Congress' top priority. This includes sufficient aid and safety regulations for workers and businesses to operate safely. However, these regulations will mean nothing if workers are not able to hold businesses accountable for violating them. Including a corporate immunity provision in this package would only make containing the virus more difficult and further demonstrate how little value Senate Republicans place on the lives of frontline workers. To be clear, giving corporations license to become super-spreaders without consequences will result in more COVID-19 cases and deaths. Instead of this offensive proposal, Congress should pass a relief bill that addresses the issues faced by those hit hardest by this pandemic---families and workers have waited long enough."
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ABOUT THE INDIVISIBLE PROJECT
The Indivisible Project (501c4) is a social movement non-profit driven by a vision of a real democracy - of, by, and for the people. Indivisible began in 2016 as a viral guide to resisting Trump’s agenda. Today, the Indivisible movement is a network of thousands of local groups and millions of activists across every state. The Indivisible Project drives campaigns for bold progressive policies, lobbies Congress, and equips activists with tools to build lasting progressive power, everywhere. Together, we fight to defeat the rightwing takeover of American government and build an inclusive democracy.