COVID-19
The problem
This pandemic has changed our lives, but the federal government’s response has not matched the scope of this tremendous challenge. Below are a set of policy proposals aimed at ensuring that this nation adequately addresses the crisis at hand, and is better equipped to deal with future crises; followed by local community actions taken by this campaign and others to alleviate the burdens caused by this current crisis.
Our Solution
Economic Justice
Suspend eviction/foreclosures for the duration of the crisis plus 3 months: Working families should not fear being evicted or thrown out into the streets in the middle of a pandemic. Efforts that have been implemented should be expanded to extend until this crisis has been completely resolved, and society has been allowed to regain its footing no sooner than 3 months after the end of the crisis. This campaign is pushing Governor Murphy using #CancelRentNJ locally and Congress using #CancelRentUSA, to enact policy giving tenants peace of mind regarding their housing situation.
Rent/mortgage freeze for the duration of the crisis plus 3 months: One of the largest liabilities for working families is their housing bill, whether that means rent or mortgage payments. In tandem with suspending evictions and foreclosures, there should be a freeze on all rent and mortgage payments to keep disposable income in the hands of working families. Current physical distancing orders have put 30 million people out of work, which will have a long term effect on the economy even after restrictions have been lifted. People will still be unemployed and will continue to struggle to find work even after physical distancing orders are over. Even one eviction or foreclosure as a result of this pandemic due to an unscrupulous bank or landlord is a disservice to our nation and its workers, and the federal government should take every measure possible to avoid them.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has introduced H.R. 6515, the Rent and Mortgage Cancelation Act, which aims to accomplish much of Hector's priorities. He supports this and other existing legislative efforts to provide relief to working class renters and homeowners.
Suspend student loan debt for the duration of the crisis plus 3 months: The largest bill for many working-class millennials is servicing their student loans, and the federal government is one of the largest holders of student loans. Ensuring that our young professionals are not drowning in debt to the federal government, all federal student loan liabilities should be suspended until the young people most affected by the wave of layoffs have had an opportunity to get back on their feet 3 months after the end of the crisis.
Emergency Unemployment Insurance: Freelancers, food service employees, and gig economy workers are amongst those hardest hit by the downturn in the economy. These workers don’t have the option of taking paid sick leave or working from home due to the nature of their jobs. The federal government should implement emergency unemployment insurance targeted specifically to those workers whose livelihoods have been devastated by this crisis. Particularly in New Jersey, where our antiquated unemployment system runs using a 60 year old programming language, the federal government should also provide funding to states to immediately update and overhaul their unemployment insurance websites.
Emergency Universal Basic Income: Families need disposable income, and they need it now. Though a universal basic income plan may not work under normal economic conditions, these are not normal economic conditions. If the Federal Reserve can pump $1 trillion dollars into the stock market, it can provide more than a one-time stimulus of $1,200.00 to help families suffering from job loss, food insecurity, and housing instability. In our district, that much money is not enough to pay rent for most people. We need a monthly stimulus that reflects the reality we live and the expenses we have here in New Jersey. That is why our people need a stimulus check of at least $2,000.00 that lasts the duration of the crisis for all and for 3 months after the lifting of major restrictions for any worker laid off as a result of COVID-19.
Social Services: Sadly, there is a tremendous lack of information regarding what social services are available to people who find themselves suffering from unemployment, food insecurity, and housing instability. Now, more than ever, the government needs to have easily accessible web portals for individuals to access social services and create a clear tenant’s rights portal letting the public know what their rights are during this ongoing crisis. This includes a mandate to allow SNAP benefits for online grocery stores and delivery services, and to increase emergency TANF/TEAFP payments while rewarding states that expand TANF/TEAFP payments with higher contribution rates from the federal government.
Hazard Pay for Front Line Workers: We depend on grocery store workers, restaurant workers, garbage collectors, EMTs, firefighters, government workers, and a countless number of people to keep our society functioning while we stay at home. Without them the streets would be full of trash, store shelves empty, and sick people would not be able to make it to the hospital. In Weehawken, and around the country, volunteer EMTs and firefighters continue to endanger their own health and safety without a cent of compensation. For that, they deserve to be duly remunerated. The federal government should provide a program which offers these workers what we as a society owe them. The federal government also needs to learn from the mistakes made in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when our first responders suffered tremendously from their inability to meet the healthcare needs of those who risked their lives for their fellow Americans. We cannot allow history to repeat itself. The federal government should also guarantee that critical frontline workers, like EMTs, are allowed into the Medicaid system immediately so that they can seek medical attention while still being able to pay the bills in the event they contract COVID-19.
Digital Equity: As members of our community adhere to the Stay at Home Order to help “flatten the curve,” the social effects of adherence differs greatly between households. A major factor for the difference for 300000 New Jerseyans is enduring the Digital Divide. From making sure that school-aged kids can attend class online, to ensuring access to both mental and physical tele-health, to receiving the most up-to-date information on the crisis -- it’s clear that universal digital access should be considered a necessity. This reality highlights why every home in the United States should have access to affordable high-speed internet; affordable, appropriate, and sufficiently-powerful digital devices; and the resources to take full advantage of both. As the federal government took a direct role in setting up the infrastructure that united the country via telephone lines and the highway system, it has a direct responsibility to make nationwide high-speed internet a reality in the 21st Century. In the meantime, the federal government can provide funding for creative band-aid measures such as putting Wi-Fi equipment in buses and parking them in underserved neighborhoods to allow everyone access to infrastructure critical to modern life.
Adequate Healthcare Protocols
Flattening the Curve: Countries like South Korea which have effectively curbed their outbreaks are testing at a rate per capita much higher than the United States. In order to adequately track and contain the spread of the virus, the United States needs to be doing at least 500,000 tests per day. The President has also proved himself to be wholly uninterested in using the power of his office to employ the Defense Production Act to produce enough test kits and personal protective equipment and has not allocated enough equipment for states like New Jersey even when they did have it. For what little he has used it, it has so far lined the pockets of 3M, Honeywell, and defense contractors which have been lobbying to increase the price of personal protective equipment. For that reason, the Defense Production Act should be expanded to empower governors to direct industry within their states to produce the necessary test kits and PPE.
Paid Sick Leave: During this unprecedented crisis, no one should have to choose between their job and their health. Every employer, including those in essential industries regardless of how many employees they have, must offer their employees the option of taking paid sick leave. This should be a permanent policy that is not contingent on the end of this emergency.
Mental Health: Experts fear that an unintended consequence of the quarantine will be an increase in mental health issues like anxiety, loneliness, and suicide. Our mental healthcare system is already inadequately funded, and will require a whole-of-government approach to tackle the increase in mental health issues we will see coming out of this pandemic. Giving people free access to tele-health and remote therapy services free of charge would go a long way towards alleviating this problem.
Social Justice
Vulnerable ICE detainees: Under normal circumstances, the inhumane conditions that ICE detainees face deserve public attention and scrutiny. The heightened risk posed by confined spaces during this pandemic means that all ICE detainees in vulnerable populations, and those detained for non-violent offenses should be prioritized for release to ensure that our prisons do not become incubators for further spread of the virus amongst inmate and prison staff.
Domestic violence: According to media reports, experts say we are on the precipice of a domestic violence crisis fueled by anxiety, stay-at-home rules and economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, meanwhile courts that adjudicate domestic issues are closed due to the ongoing pandemic. The federal government must increase funding to resources to help individuals suffering from domestic abuse to escape their conditions without risking their health. This crisis also highlights the lack of options women in our district have when it comes to transitional housing:North Hudson lacks a women's shelter.
Eliminating Racial Disparities: A person’s zip code or skin color should never decide whether they die under normal circumstances, more so during a crisis when vulnerable communities suffer most. Just across the river, the New York City Dept. of Health reports that Latinos are the most likely group of people to die from COVID-19, at a rate twice as high as Whites. Right here in New Jersey, Latinos and Blacks make up a staggering 52% of cases despite making up only 35% of the state population. Race intersects in this crisis with the lack of testing in minority communities, untreated or under-treated pre-existing conditions that result from the lack of access to affordable healthcare, and the prevalence of people of color in the essential workforce to create a perfect storm that is ripping through our communities. This campaign is calling for additional funding for personal protective equipment, hospitals, and for Medicaid opt-ins to be specifically targeted for impacted communities of color and industries whose workforce has a large minority population.
Expanding Vote By Mail: In-person voting is impossible while this pandemic rages. Rather than postponing the election, we are calling on Governor Murphy to mail a ballot to every eligible voter, institute early voting, and allow for same day registration so that the 1.3 million New Jerseyans expected to cast a ballot on July 7th can do so confident that they will not be endangering their health and the health of others. Experts currently state that mail transit does not pose a threat of COVID transmission, and vote-by-mail has the added benefit of increasing turnout dramatically, particularly among the most disadvantaged and historically disenfranchised voters. Unfortunately, opponents of vote-by-mail seem to all cite the same concern: the fear that voters who don’t usually vote will cast a ballot.
Community Action
Hiring #NJ08 Freelancers: This campaign has committed to directing resources back into our community to assist those suffering financially. We have already worked with local artists to put income directly into their hands, and will continue to do so until this crisis ends.
Virtual Town Halls: The members of our community are on edge, and they’re looking for answers. In this sensitive time, I want you all to know that your concerns are heard, and that they will be addressed. Virtual town halls will give the community an opportunity to voice their concerns and know that someone in the community hears them and is ready, willing, and able to take action immediately.
Digital Voter Outreach: Even in the midst of a pandemic, our campaign presses forward, fighting to win on July 7th. We are still making the one-on-one connections that are the backbone of progressive campaigning, ensuring that we will not fall behind in our campaign to bring working class representation to the district in 2020.
COVID Safe Rallies: Activists from Never Again Action have organized COVID-safe social distancing rallies at the Hudson, Essex, and Bergen County prisons to protest the inhumane conditions and potential for spreading the corona virus within the walls of those institutions. Even under these dire circumstances, we must let our most vulnerable populations know that they are in our hearts and minds.
Mutual Aid: Mutual Aid groups have sprung up around the country as grassroots efforts to assist those who have needs that are not being addressed by the government. One local group, the Mutual Aid Tenant Collective of Hudson County, has been doing this very important work. New Jersey activist and educator Zellie Imani is leading a mutual aid network in Paterson.
#JCCares: Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon organized a letter-writing initiative to let senior citizens know that we have not forgotten them. This initiative spreads goodwill by engaging in random acts of kindness.
