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Dear George,
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic shocks have touched us all in different ways.
For some, the loss is permanent. No one can bring back the more than 450,000 family members, friends, and neighbors we’ve lost to the virus. For so many of us, an empty seat at the table or a photograph on the wall of happier times serve as lasting reminders of a loss that cannot be replaced.
For others, the struggle to stay afloat may seem insurmountable. Many have lost jobs and livelihoods, perhaps finding themselves waiting in food lines just to feed their families. Some are spending dizzying amounts of time on websites or on hold trying to secure an appointment for a life-saving vaccination. Still others are juggling new caregiving responsibilities as many schools have gone remote and childcare options are limited.
In this time of loss and struggle, President Biden’s American Rescue Plan will deliver much-needed relief. Tell your members of Congress to support this critical relief package!
Here are some of the critical ways that the American Rescue Plan will respond to these needs:
- Helps us beat the virus and safely reopen schools by funding a national vaccination program, scaling up testing and tracing and production of personal protective equipment, and investing in our schools with the goal of making them safe to reopen.
- Delivers immediate economic relief to working families in the form of a $1400 survival check, housing and food assistance for those in need, and extends and expands unemployment benefits.
- Supports communities most impacted by the virus by helping state and local governments keep essential workers like first responders, teachers and transit workers on the job, while also providing assistance to small businesses, including minority-owned businesses impacted by systematic racism.
This pandemic has laid bare some of the fundamental inequities in our society. Just as pollution and dirty air and water disproportionately burden communities of color and Indigenous populations, the virus has exposed inequities in our healthcare system and social services. The American Rescue Plan begins to address these inequities by delivering immediate relief to those most in need.
Send an urgent message to your members of Congress now! Let them know we must act quickly to deliver relief to people struggling to get by.
We’ve made taking action easy by providing a sample message you can send to your members of Congress. Add a personal message about how the pandemic has impacted you and your family or how the American Rescue Plan will help you get by to ensure your message has the greatest impact possible.
With your help, we can pass the American Rescue Plan, provide critical relief for people in need, and begin to heal our nation.
Sincerely,
Kirin Kennedy
Deputy Legislative Director
Sierra Club
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