March, 31 2021, 12:00am EDT
People's Action Statement on President Biden's American Jobs Plan
People's Action Climate Justice Campaign Director Kaniela Ing today released the following statement in response to President Biden's American Jobs Plan:
WASHINGTON
People's Action Climate Justice Campaign Director Kaniela Ing today released the following statement in response to President Biden's American Jobs Plan:
"President Biden's American Jobs Plan is a strong start. It begins to seriously address some of our government's past failures, fix our broken down physical infrastructure, and rapidly transition America to a clean energy economy. This plan starts to solve the competing and long-term crises of climate, justice, jobs, and housing, and we hope all future packages share this spirit and move forward in ways that are equitable and sustainable.
"However, impact is more important than intent, and scope is different than scale. And the impact of President Biden's proposed infrastructure plan is not nearly at the scale we need. In order to actually solve today's overlapping crises, we need to invest at least three times more over the next decade.
"While President Biden addresses the nation from Pittsburgh, thousands of grassroots leaders across America are taking to the streets and to their screens, to say that it's 'time to thrive', not just survive. People's Action members and our partners are calling on Democrats--from Maine, to Texas, to Guam, to Alaska--to back a recovery package like the THRIVE Act, which moves $1 trillion each year over the next decade.
"We need to create 15 million good, union jobs including major investments in care jobs, so that workers who take care of their families and neighbors get the support they need. We need to keep people safe in their homes without drowning in debt. We need direct and recurring cash straight to people's pockets and linked to economic conditions so that everyone can get a basic standard of living. We need more.
"This package is a good start. But to truly help our communities recover, we need President Biden to be fearless in his crusade to build us back better, and seize on this historic opportunity to do so. It's time for transformation, not just recovery."
People's Action builds the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban areas to win change through issue campaigns and elections.
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"My child is human!" said Nasbeebah Hajjaj, a Palestinian-American woman who held up her 16-month-old son, Hamza. "Stop killing Palestinian children!"
The anti-war group CodePink said Hajjaj immigrated to the U.S. with her family when she was two months old, and has lost approximately 20 family members to Israel's bombardment of Gaza since October.
The group targeted Austin's testimony a month after the Biden administration released its 2025 budget request—a proposal that includes $1.1 trillion in military-related spending. Despite growing calls from U.S. lawmakers and rights advocates, the White House has not announced conditions for military aid to Israel, which has been widely accused of human rights violations as it has assaulted Gaza and blocked humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians.
Israel's bombardment has killed at least 33,899 Palestinians so far, and more than two dozen people have died of starvation in recent months as international experts have warned parts of northern Gaza are facing famine.
At least 13,000 children have been killed, and the United Nations reported in February that 70% of those killed overall have been women and children—even as Israel and the U.S. have insisted Israeli forces are targeting Hamas.
The International Court of Justice issued a preliminary ruling in January saying Israel is "plausibly" committing genocide in Gaza, and lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have expressed support for the ruling—but the U.S. has dismissed the court's findings, including at Austin's hearing last week.
While Hajjaj held up her son at Wednesday's hearing, another protester, identified by CodePink as Helen, addressed the defense secretary.
"Secretary Austin, why are you denying Israel's genocide in Gaza? Why are you denying genocide in Gaza?" said Helen, who was arrested after being led out of the hearing. "The whole world sees it! You know the laws of war! You know you have blood on your hands! You have blood on your hands! We have blood on our hands."
The advocates chanted, "Shame on you!" as they were led out of the hearing room.
Outside the hearing room, Hajjaj emphasized that the Biden administration has "the power to stop" Israel's attacks on Gaza by cutting off its military aid—of which the U.S. is the largest international supplier. The Foreign Assistance Act stipulates that the U.S. cannot provide military funding to countries that block American humanitarian aid.
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"One estimate indicates that U.S. military and intelligence agencies awarded at least $28 billion to Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet (Google's parent company) between 2018 and 2022," the report states. "The actual value of these contracts is likely much higher, because many of the largest known contracts with U.S. tech companies are classified and withheld from public procurement databases."
González found that the five largest military contracts to major tech firms between 2018 and 2022 "had contract ceilings totaling at least $53 billion combined."
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The risk of conflicts of interest increases as military-dependent tech companies go public.
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About 4,000 Volkswagen workers in Tennessee are voting on whether to unionize with the United Auto Workers. Labor journalist @hamiltonnolan says it's the most important union vote in years and could be the "first domino" in a wider push to organize the auto industry in the South. pic.twitter.com/RWFnO5KznI
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) April 17, 2024
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