July, 22 2020, 12:00am EDT
Groups Urge Senate to Include Election Funding in New COVID-19 Relief Package
WASHINGTON
Last night, 30+ organizations from the Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD) coalition urged the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration to include vital funding to bolster state and local elections officials facing unprecedented burdens in holding elections amidst the COVID-19 pandemic amidst massive budget shortfalls. In a letter organized by Common Cause to every member of the Committee yesterday, more than 30 groups emphasized the importance supporting the $3.6 billion in election funding that was included in the House-passed Heroes Act in order to safeguard our elections against multiple threats at home and abroad.
"It is critically important that Congress allocate sufficient funding to ensure that every American have the opportunity to make their voice heard in the coming election, even during a pandemic," said Common Cause Director of Legislative Affairs Aaron Scherb. "We knew we would again be facing foreign interference in the 2020 election, because the Trump White House refused to hold Russia accountable for its attacks in 2016, but on top of that, states are now facing massive additional costs related to holding elections in the middle of a pandemic. Many states already spent much or all of their November general election budgets in efforts to keep voters safe during the primaries. Congress must step up to help state and local election officials meet the challenge and a time when states are facing gaping budget shortfalls."
"Congress must act now to secure our elections amidst the COVID-19 pandemic so that local and state governments have the time and resources to ensure that every American can vote safely this year," said Jana Morgan, director of the 160+ organization Declaration for American Democracy coalition. "Recent disastrous primaries in Wisconsin and Georgia present a stark warning for November. Congress must allocate $3.6 billion in funding and enable the reforms necessary to ensure that no American has to choose between their health and their vote."
The letter stressed that the $400 million in election funding included in the CARES Act was a fine first step, but that states requires significantly more resources to face the challenges ahead. The groups point to the widespread problems experienced during the primaries in many states - hours long lines, shortages of poll workers, polling place closures, late delivery of absentee ballots, and myriad other issues - that will only be compounded in November with record turnout widely predicted.
In addition to Common Cause, several other members of the Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD) coalition signing the letter included, the League of Conservation Voter (LCV), League of Women Voters of the United States (LWV), Brady United Against Gun Violence, March for Our Lives, Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Greenpeace USA, Pax Christi USA, and Stand Up America.
To view this release online, click here.
The full letter follows below:
Letter from Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD) Organizations Urging the Senate to Make Additional Investments in State and Local Elections
Senator Roy Blunt, ChairmanSenate Committee on Rules & AdministrationRussell Senate Office Building, Room 260Washington, DC 20510 Senator Amy Klobuchar, Ranking MemberSenate Committee on Rules & AdministrationDirksen Senate Office Building, Room 425Washington, DC 20510
July 21, 2020
Dear Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Klobuchar:
As you prepare to hold a hearing to examine the critical needs that our states must address in advance of the 2020 elections, our below organizations strongly urge you to invest additional resources for elections in the Senate version of the Heroes Act. Our organizations are part of the Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD), a coalition of more than 160 groups representing tens of millions of Americans, and we urge you to support the $3.6 billion in election funding that was included in the House-passed Heroes Act so all voters can have their voices heard and votes counted this year.
Election officials throughout the country and on both sides of the aisle have spoken up to ask for Congress to prioritize additional resources for state and local elections. Nearly all (if not all) states do in fact need Congress to make additional investments so we can ensure that voting is safe, accessible, and secure this year. This year's elections face unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 crisis and the economic recession. Millions of Americans, many of whom have lost their jobs and potentially their health care, should not have to choose between their health and their right to vote. Congress has a critical role to play to ensure that no voters are disenfranchised this year.
The $400 million in election funding included in the CARES Act was a fine first step, but states need significantly more resources. As you know, voters in some states' primaries faced significant barriers, including:
- Waiting in hours' long lines (up to five or more hours in certain instances);
- Finding their polling locations closed;
- Not receiving absentee ballots; and
- Receiving their absentee ballots but not having them returned in time or not having them counted
We cannot let these problems be repeated in this November's election. Voters have been able to cast their ballots during wars, natural disasters, and pandemics, and the COVID-19 pandemic presents unique circumstances to voting this year. Our democracy requires continued investments, and we strongly urge you to provide $3.6 billion for election funding in the Senate version of the Heroes Act.
Sincerely,
Brady United Against Gun Violence
Center for American Progress (CAP)
Church World Service
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Clean Elections Texas
Climate Reality Project
Common Cause
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
DemCast USA
Democracy 21
Democracy Initiative
Fix Democracy First
Franciscan Action Network
Greenpeace USA
League of Conservation Voters (LCV)
League of Women Voters of the United States (LWV)
Let America Vote/End Citizens United Action Fund
March for Our Lives
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Council of Jewish Women
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New American Leaders Action Fund
Pax Christi USA
Progressive Turnout Project
Reclaim Our Democracy
SEIU
Stand Up America
Voices for Progress
20/20 Vision
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
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Amnesty Urges War Crimes Probe of 'Indiscriminate' Israeli Attacks on Lebanon
"The latest evidence of unlawful airstrikes during Israel's most recent offensive in Lebanon underscores the urgent need for all states, especially the United States, to suspend arms transfers," said one campaigner.
Dec 12, 2024
Amnesty International on Thursday called for a war crimes investigation into recent Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon that killed dozens of civilians, as well as a suspension of arms transfers to Israel as it attacks Gaza, the West Bank, and Syria.
In a briefing paper titled The Sky Rained Missiles, Amnesty "documented four illustrative cases in which unlawful Israeli strikes killed at least 49 civilians" in Lebanon in September and October amid an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) campaign of invasion and bombardment that Lebanese officials say has killed or wounded more than 20,000 people.
"Amnesty International found that Israeli forces unlawfully struck residential buildings in the village of al-Ain in northern Bekaa on September 29, the village of Aitou in northern Lebanon on October 14, and in Baalbeck city on October 21," the rights group said. "Israeli forces also unlawfully attacked the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on October 16."
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty's senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns, said in a statement that "these four attacks are emblematic of Israel's shocking disregard for civilian lives in Lebanon and their willingness to flout international law."
The September 29 attack "destroyed the house of the Syrian al-Shaar family, killing all nine members of the family who were sleeping inside," the report states.
"This is a civilian house, there is no military target in it whatsoever," village mukhtar, or leader, Youssef Jaafar told Amnesty. "It is full of kids. This family is well-known in town."
On October 16, Israel bombed the Nabatieh municipal complex, killing Mayor Ahmad Khalil and 10 other people.
"The airstrike took place without warning, just as the municipality's crisis unit was meeting to coordinate deliveries of aid, including food, water, and medicine, to residents and internally displaced people who had fled bombardment in other parts of southern Lebanon," Amnesty said, adding that there was no apparent military target in the immediate area.
In the deadliest single strike detailed in the Amnesty report, IDF bombardment believed to be targeting a suspected Hezbollah member killed 23 civilians forcibly displaced from southern Lebanon in Aitou on October 14.
"The youngest casualty was Aline, a 5-month-old baby who was flung from the house into a pickup truck nearby and was found by rescue workers the day after the strike," Amnesty said.
Survivor Jinane Hijazi told Amnesty: "I've lost everything; my entire family, my parents, my siblings, my daughter. I wish I had died that day too."
As the report notes:
A fragment of the munition found at the site of the attack was analyzed by an Amnesty International weapons expert and based upon its size, shape, and the scalloped edges of the heavy metal casing, identified as most likely a MK-80 series aerial bomb, which would mean it was at least a 500-pound bomb. The United States is the primary supplier of these types of munitions to Israel.
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The October 21 strike destroyed a building housing 13 members of the Othman family, killing two women and four children and wounding seven others.
"My son woke me up; he was thirsty and wanted to drink. I gave him water and he went back to sleep, hugging his brother," survivor Fatima Drai—who lost her two sons Hassan, 5, and Hussein, 3, in the attack—told Amnesty.
"When he hugged his brother, I smiled and thought, I'll tell his father how our son is when he comes back," she added. "I went to pray, and then everything around me exploded. A gas canister exploded, burning my feet, and within seconds, it consumed my kids' room."
Guevara Rosas said: "These attacks must be investigated as war crimes. The Lebanese government must urgently call for a special session at the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigative mechanism into the alleged violations and crimes committed by all parties in this conflict. It must also grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over Rome Statute crimes committed on Lebanese territory."
"Israel has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful airstrikes in Gaza and past wars in Lebanon taking a devastating toll on civilians."
Last month, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Israel's 433-day Gaza onslaught, which has left more than 162,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing in the embattled enclave.
The tribunal also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes committed during and after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which more than 1,100 people were killed and over 240 others were kidnapped.
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice is weighing a genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel. Last week, Amnesty published a report accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
The United States—which provides Israel with tens of billions of dollars in military aid and diplomatic cover—has also been accused of complicity in Israeli war crimes in Palestine and Lebanon.
"Israel has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful airstrikes in Gaza and past wars in Lebanon taking a devastating toll on civilians," Guevara Rosas said. "The latest evidence of unlawful air strikes during Israel's most recent offensive in Lebanon underscores the urgent need for all states, especially the United States, to suspend arms transfers to Israel due to the risk they will be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law."
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Echoing recent warnings from economists, business leaders, news reporting, and immigrant rights groups, Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee detailed Thursday how President-elect Donald Trump's planned mass deportations "would deliver a catastrophic blow to the U.S. economy."
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Citing recent research by the American Immigration Council and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the JEC report warns that depending on how many immigrants are forced out of the country, Trump's deportations could:
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Highlighting how mass deportations would harm not only undocumented immigrants but also U.S. citizens, the report explains that construction worker losses would "make housing even harder to build, raising its cost," and "reduce the supply of farmworkers who keep Americans fed as well as the supply of home health aides at a time when more Americans are aging and requiring assistance."
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Along with laying out the economic toll of Trump's promised deportations, the JEC report makes the case that "providing a pathway to citizenship is good economics. Immigrants are helping meet labor demand while also demonstrating that more legal pathways to working in the United States are needed to meet this demand."
"Additionally, research shows that expanding legal immigration pathways can reduce irregular border crossings, leading to more secure and regulated borders," the publication says. "This approach is vital for managing increased migration to the United States, especially as more people flee their home countries due to the continued risk of violence, persecution, economic conditions, natural disasters, and climate change."
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One advocate called the CFPB's new rule "a major milestone in its effort to level the playing field between regular people and big banks."
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of President-elect Donald Trump's top expected targets as he plans to dismantle parts of the federal government after taking office in January, announced on Thursday its latest action aimed at saving households across the U.S. hundreds of dollars in fees each year.
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"The CFPB is cracking down on these excessive junk fees and requiring big banks to come clean about the interest rate they're charging on overdraft loans."
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In recent decades, banks have used overdraft fees as profit drivers which increase consumer costs by billions of dollars every year while causing tens of millions to lose access to banking services and face negative credit reports that can harm their financial futures.
The Federal Reserve Board exempted banks from Truth in Lending Act protections in 1969, allowing them to charge overdraft fees without disclosing their terms to consumers.
"For far too long, the largest banks have exploited a legal loophole that has drained billions of dollars from Americans' deposit accounts," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. "The CFPB is cracking down on these excessive junk fees and requiring big banks to come clean about the interest rate they're charging on overdraft loans."
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Accountable.US noted that Republican Reps. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina and Andy Barr of Kentucky have appeared to lift their criticisms of the rule straight from industry talking points, claiming that reforming overdraft fee rules would "limit consumer choice, stifle innovation, and ultimately raise the cost of banking for all consumers."
Similarly, in April Barr claimed at a hearing that "the vast majority of Americans" believe credit card late fees are legitimate after the Biden administration unveiled a rule capping the fees at $8.
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