March, 31 2020, 12:00am EDT
400,000 Call on Congress to Freeze Rent/Mortgage/Utility Payments for American Families
ParentsTogether survey indicates almost half of families already can’t afford basic necessities.
NEW YORK
As millions of families struggle to pay their bills as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, 403,525 people have signed a petition created by ParentsTogether Action, calling on Congress to suspend rent, mortgage, and utility payments, and order a full moratorium on evictions/foreclosures.
ParentsTogether Action, a national parent-led organization with over 2 million members, has also released a survey of 1200 families around the country regarding the impact the coronavirus crisis is having nationwide. The results found that nearly half of families have already lost income and that the majority of families won't be able to pay their rent/mortgage bills this month without cutting back on other basics like food.
"The stimulus bill is a first step, but it's not enough for most families and leaves out many altogether. Millions are wondering how they'll pay their rent or mortgage by tomorrow. We need additional emergency action suspending rent, mortgage and utility payments for the duration of this crisis," said Justin Ruben, Co-Director of ParentsTogether. "Parents are telling us they won't be able to pay rent unless they cut back on vital food or medication -- this isn't a choice we should be forcing people to make."
Below, please find topline findings from ParentsTogether Action's survey of more than 1200 parents and ParentsTogether members. For the full results please visit the following link.
- 68% of families are struggling as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Between March 18 to March 26, the percentage of families surveyed with children under 18 who have lost income increased from 33% to 48%. (See results from March 18 here.)
- Only 38% say they'll be able to pay their rent/mortgage on April 1 in full, without cutting back on other necessities like food. Just 30% are confident they'll be able to pay their May rent/mortgage.
- Half of families are already having to trade off between paying for basics like rent, utilities, healthcare, or food.
- 82% of respondents are worried about having enough money to cover basic housing and food costs within three months. 46% are worried about running out within the next two weeks.
- Over two-thirds of respondents say that the emergency one-time payment coming to many Americans will help tide them over for a month or less.
People around the country are sharing their stories about the bills they face and can't pay by April 1 using the hashtags #RentFreeze2020 and #MortgageFreeze.
ParentsTogether has parents available to discuss the struggles they're facing right now and will be working to stay in touch with families throughout the next few months. As a resource to parents in the very short term, the organization has launched Coronavirus Parents, a Facebook group where parents are sharing resources, ideas, small victories and strategies for getting through the crisis.
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) brought the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act—which would prohibit the federal government from forcing journalists and telecom companies to disclose certain information, with exceptions for terroristic or violent threats—for a unanimous consent vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued Tuesday that passing the PRESS Act is "more important now than ever before when we've heard some in the previous administration talk about going after the press in one way or another," a reference to Republican President-elect Donald Trump's threats to jail journalists who refuse to reveal the sources of leaks. Trump, who has referred to the press as the "enemy of the people," repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to "kill this bill."
Cotton, who blocked a vote on the legislation in December 2022, again objected to the bill, a move that thwarted its speedy passage. The Republican called the legislation a "threat to national security" and "the biggest giveaway to the liberal press in American history."
The advocacy group Defending Rights and Dissent lamented that "Congress has abdicated their responsibility to take substantive steps to protect the constitutional right to a free press."
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Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She has stated that it must be "made unsafe" for hospitals to provide trans care, and frequently shares Libs of TikTok posts. She intends to target trans people in blue states. Subscribe to support my journalism.
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— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 10, 2024 at 8:14 AM
Reed continued:
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Reed also highlighted Dhillon's attacks on state laws protecting transgender people, as well as her expression of "extreme anti-trans views" on social media—including calling gender-affirming healthcare for trans children "child abuse."
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