Statement: On One Year Anniversary of CARES Act Passage, ProsperUS Coalition Underscores Importance Of Continued Bold Public Investment In the Economy

Washington, DC – Today, Claire Guzdar, campaign manager and spokesperson for ProsperUS—a coalition of more than 75 major progressive labor, grassroots, movement, faith-based, and policy organizations at the state, local, and national levels—released the following statement on the one year anniversary of the passage of the CARES Act:

“One year ago, Congress passed the CARES Act. The CARES Act was a temporary lifeline that helped alleviate the symptoms of the COVID-induced economic recession, but was not a cure to the underlying causes of economic pain which are a result of decades of underinvestment and faulty economic theory. While the relief was much-needed and critical to the livelihood of tens of millions of people, economic policy experts agree that it will take much more substantial and sustained public investment for us to achieve full recovery and rebuild our fragile and unequal economy.

“If the COVID-19 pandemic revealed anything, it's that we must build a stronger, equitable economy that works for the many, not just the top one percent. In this economic crisis, the biggest risk we face is in doing too little. That’s why ProsperUS is working to ensure the downpayments of the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan aren’t the last actions Congress takes. With millions of hard working Americans still unemployed, behind on rent, hungry and struggling, we need further public investment and we need it NOW. If Congress and the Biden administration do not build on the investments of the last year to meet the crucial needs of the climate, caregiving, racial injustice, and other crises, we’ll be back where we started and that simply is not an option.”

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