In the wake of a troubling—or, in his words, “grim”—November jobs report, President-elect Joe Biden spoke about the economy on Friday, calling for Congress to act quickly and for Donald Trump to sign a relief package.
If that doesn’t happen by the end of the month, Biden noted, “12 million Americans will lose the unemployment benefits they rely on to keep food on the table and pay their bills. Emergency paid leave will end. The moratorium on evictions will expire. States will lose the vital tools they need to pay for COVID testing and public health workers.”
Biden said he was “encouraged by the bipartisan efforts in the Senate around a $900 billion package of relief.” But “It’s just the start,” he said. “Congress will need to act again in January.”
What that means is that ”To truly end this crisis, Congress will need to fund more testing as well as the equitable and free distribution of the vaccine,” he said. “We’ll need more economic relief as a bridge through 2021 until both the pandemic and economic crises are over.”
And once we’re through the crisis, the U.S. will need to “build back better,” as Biden’s campaign slogan has it. The plan of that name, he said, would create 18.6 million jobs according to an analysis by Moody’s.
“We will invest in infrastructure, clean energy, manufacturing, and so much more.
This will create millions of good-paying American jobs and get the job market back on the path toward full employment. This will raise incomes, reduce drug prices, advance racial equity across the economy, and restore the backbone of this country, the middle class,” Biden said. “Bottom line, it’s essential that we provide immediate relief for working families and businesses.”
And not doing so, he warned, could have long-term economic damage. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants and will be trying to ensure happens simply to damage Democratic electoral prospects in 2022 and 2024. And that’s why the Georgia Senate runoffs are so critically important.
We need to win in Georgia in January—the Senate is on the line. Please give $3 right now to send the GOP packing.
Ready to reach voters in Georgia, whether by phonebanking or textbanking, for the Jan. 5 runoff? Click to sign up for a training with Fair Fight—the voting rights group founded by Stacey Abrams—and they will set you up with what you need to start effectively reaching out to Georgia voters.