ProsperUS Letter to Leadership

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Schumer:

Two years ago this month, the American economy had just shed 20.5 million jobs and the unemployment rate hit a record 14.7%. Congress boldly responded with a level of federal investment to address the devastating impact of the crisis. Today, nearly all of those jobs have been recovered and the unemployment rate has returned to 3.6%.

Given how far we have come to lift millions of hardworking families out of economic despair, we find it incomprehensible to hear some policymakers proposing to slam the brakes on our economic recovery. Many people are still struggling to afford basic necessities and millions more are feeling the squeeze of rising prices. Pulling back on effective, popular investments will not solve the problems we face; in fact, a pivot to austerity measures would only make families poorer, increase unemployment, and cancel long-overdue, necessary, and widely popular investments in our economy.

ProsperUS, a coalition of labor, grassroots, movement, faith-based, small business, and policy organizations, urges you to reject misplaced demands for austerity and instead seize this moment to invest in climate, care, and good jobs that will help stabilize our economy, build on the successes of the last two years, and secure prosperity for generations to come.

Without further action, the economic gains we’ve made since we passed the American Rescue Plan will be erased. Sadly, since the expanded and enhanced Child Tax Credit expired, child poverty has returned to levels prior to the pandemic and increased benefits under the Affordable Care Act will expire this fall, driving up health care costs for millions amid a deathly pandemic. An increase for long-term care spending in Medicaid has also faded away, leaving sub-poverty wages for the workers we trust to care for our nation’s grandparents and people with disabilities, and the cost of insulin remains immorally out of reach for millions of diabetics. Despite strong job growth, the unemployment rate for Black workers is still nearly double that of whites.

And as spring turns to summer, and we face yet another year of record temperatures, with increased wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, and drought, we must ask ourselves: If we don’t address the climate emergency now, when will we ever?

We understand that politics can force trade-offs in policymaking. It has become clear that any federal investment bill will need to satisfy the demands of a small faction in Congress to reduce the deficit on the net. But the plain truth is the deficit is already falling fast and there are numerous strong proposals to raise revenues by making the wealthy and corporations finally pay their fair share. While rising prices are creating real harm for millions of families, it is increasingly clear that rising prices are the result of corporate greed and supply chain issues, not public spending. In fact, further investment in deeply neglected sectors of our economy will help bring prices down while giving workers and families a much-needed lifeline.

Starving our economy of long-term investments is pennywise and pound foolish and will lead to slower growth, fewer jobs, less revenue, and larger deficits in the long run. Choosing to veer away from investments that succeeded so incredibly in keeping families and the economy afloat over the last two years could derail our economic recovery altogether. And, as both polling and recent demonstrations remind us, people across the country are looking to Congress to build on the successes of the last year by delivering on care, climate, and good jobs.

We urge you to act now to fulfill the promise of desperately needed federal investments – workers, families, and communities across the country are counting on you.

Sincerely,

ProsperUS