Coronavirus Campaigning

Campaigns (132)

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  COVID-19 Emergency Mortgage, Rent and Debt Forgiveness

  We demand an immediate moratorium on collecting rent, mortgage and utility/wifi bills for the month of April and forgiveness of interest, late fees, or the owing of that month's rent in the future should it need to be implemented. This moratorium and forgiveness should continue as long as the critical and necessary social distancing continues during the Covid-19 crisis. As many of you know, most Oregon business came to a rolling halt weeks before the Federal, state and county governments took action. As a result many local businesses, workers and Oregonians are already on the edge of default due to the free-fall of our economy. Oregons, particularly small businesses and those who work in food service, retail, entertainment, gig, freelance, cottage industries and recreational sectors are hard hit and will loose both their enterprises and homes if decisive action is not taken now. Many Oregonians will go into default if the banks, loan collectors and landlords are not immediately prevented from raking in collections, debts and rents during this vulnerable time. At the start of April, you or someone you love may be unable to pay for rent. Within two weeks someone you know will default on their home loan. Small business that are central to your community will begin accruing a debilitating amount of debt forcing them to close their doors forever. A friend or family member that you care about could face eviction or the closure of vital utilities. Covid-19 does more than threaten the lives of the elderly and weak. It will terraform our communities and destroy the livelihood of our young, old, poor and working class alike. Sign the petition today. Demand an immediate moratorium on the collection of all mortgages/loans, bills, rents and utilities for both individuals and small businesses. The damaging effects of the Covid-19 crisis can be staved off, if not prevented, but only if we come together now.

  1,486 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Devorah Pardes
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  Coronavirus: Reopen Pawtucket's Memorial Hospital Now!

  Older folks and folks with medical conditions are likely going to die without emergency medical care at a hospital. Tell Mayor Donald Grebien and Governor Gina Raimondo to reopen Pawtucket's Memorial Hosptial immediately.

  1,420 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by David Norton
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  Nationalize the Supply Chain for Medical Protection and Life Saving Equipment

  Without a working healthcare system, entire communities will collapse -- healthcare workers, patients and their families will be affected. Not that one can put a monetary value on human lives, but our economy will never recover from a healthcare collapse.

  1,163 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Irene Mar
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  Governor Hogan: Stop the Spread of Covid-19 in Immigrant Detention Centers

  We are very grateful for your proactive, consistent, and effective response to the Covid-19 crisis, and we know it will save many lives in our state. We are asking you to apply that same leadership to decisions affecting some of our most vulnerable residents: undocumented immigrants. As you know, the Coronavirus pandemic poses a serious threat to our communities, and as a result of this virus, people have been staying home, practicing social distancing, and taking measures to maintain good hygienic health. However, immigrant detainees have very little control over who they come in contact with or the cleanliness of their environment. Although some may believe that isolation from society prevents the threat of COVID-19 in detention centers, this is not accurate. The inadequate sanitary conditions in addition to the close proximity in which people are held means illness can spread like wildfire in detention centers. This is proven by many previous infectious disease outbreaks in detention centers, such as influenza and chickenpox. These outbreaks were very hard to control and caused the death of many men, women, and children. As one of the first governors to announce the closure of public schools, and as the chair of the National Governors Association, governors across the country are looking to you for moral leadership at this time. We are thankful for the steps you have taken to protect residents across the state, and we urge you to take bold action to protect Maryland’s immigrant community, as well.

  912 of 1,000 Signatures

  Created by Bonimot Tzedek
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  NO exclusive licenses (monopoly power) to make a coronavirus vaccine or treatment!

  With flu season still in full swing—and an estimated 10,000 deaths in the U.S. so far this season (seriously, get your flu shot)—news of the new coronavirus outbreak is also causing concern. Reports indicating a possibility of a future pandemic make it clear that we need a strong response from our elected officials. The National Institutes of Health—which is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—have already invested nearly $700 million of taxpayer money in coronavirus vaccine research. Public, taxpayer dollars have led the way in developing treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus, but President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Azar are considering giving pharmaceutical corporations monopolies to sell them at whatever price maximizes profits. Research and investment in treatments and vaccines funded with public dollars should not be handed over to private corporations with no guardrails, so they can price gouge patients and rake in profits.

  631 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Felicia Burnett
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  Tell Senators Burr and Loeffler: Resign for insider trading on the coronavirus

  Demand Progress filed a formal complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee calling for an investigation into Senator Richard Burr for insider trading. He and Senator Kelly Loeffler also need to resign. At the very same time that Senator Burr and Senator Loeffler were telling the public that the "economy is strong" and even attacking Democrats for exaggerating the danger of the coronavirus, they were dumping millions of dollars of stock holdings based on classified intelligence. Senators Burr and Loeffler are counting on us to be too wrapped up in the exploding coronavirus news cycle to take them to task — but this corruption is just too immense. Demand Progress is filing with the Senate Ethics Committee and the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a formal investigation into these senators' insider trading. We're also leading the coalition asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to remove Sen. Burr as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee -- and both need to resign. Now.

  630 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Coronavirus - Congress Must Act to Support Working People Now

  Coronavirus has exposed the cracks in our social safety net for today's families. Our society is only as healthy as its most vulnerable members. Our short and long term caregiving systems and social safety net are broken and must be transformed. Year after year, Congress has underinvested in working families putting entire communities at risk. Today that has never been more clear. Our country’s social safety net can’t continue to be patchwork and spotty. Support shouldn’t depend on your zip code and who you work for. Like paid family and medical leave, paid sick days are often least accessible to the people who need it the most. With coronavirus impacting people today, Congress must act immediately to protect the health of our communities and ensure all working families get immediate support. This support must include paid sick days and improved unemployment benefits for working people who lose hours or jobs. Congress and the White House must ensure a stimulus package reflects the needs of all working people, not just businesses impacted. A payroll tax cut only helps those who are receiving pay - not those who are hourly workers that are missing work or have lost their jobs, excluding a critical part of the working population. In this time of crisis, we must ensure that no family has to choose between caring for themselves, their loved ones and a paycheck. Coronavirus is an inflection point: we can fix a broken system that isn’t adequately supporting today’s working families and creating long term costs. We can rebuild the continuum of care systems, from paid sick days to paid family and medical leave for every working person so our systems are responsive to what people actually need.

  567 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Apollo Gonzales
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  Stop Big Pharma from price gouging on the coronavirus

  Big Pharma companies are already trying to profit from drugs to treat or prevent coronavirus infection -- and we need your help to stop them. Last week Gilead Sciences was caught attempting to get exclusive rights to one drug that has shown promise in treating covid-19. Under intense public pressure they backed off, but they and other Pharma companies still have the ability to raise the price high and gouge everyone for desperately needed medicine. Under a federal law known as Section 1498, the government can override a patent at any time as long as the company receives "reasonable compensation." This gives the government critical leverage to negotiate lower prices. And the government could even start producing lifesaving treatments itself under the Defense Production Act. Will you help use that leverage to save lives and stop Big Pharma from gouging people?

  526 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Stop the big banks from taking our stimulus money away

  This week millions of Americans should be getting their stimulus checks in their bank accounts. But some may never see that money -- because the Trump Administration is allowing big banks to take it away. Congress excluded government debt from the stimulus checks, but did not explicitly ban private debt collectors and banks from seizing an individual's stimulus money and applying it to existing debts. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown asked the Treasury Department to write rules banning banks and debt collectors from taking the stimulus checks away from Americans. The American Prospect revealed that the Treasury Department is telling banks they can seize those checks. We cannot allow Wall Street and the big banks to undermine these desperately needed economic stimulus funds. This money is designed to help people pay their rent and put food on the table. We have to stop the banks from taking that money away from people who need it.

  518 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Suspend Rent and Evictions, Open the UCB Dorms to Homeless Students

  UC Berkeley, the city of Berkeley, and the entire country (not to mention the world) are going through both an economic meltdown and a public health crisis due ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Many tenants - including UC Berkeley students - are unable to pay their rent as a result of the economic meltdown and shelter-in-place order. Furthermore, so many students live paycheck-to-paycheck that they could never afford the added expense of paying backrent. Many of these students also do not have a "non-Berkeley home" they can return to. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has responded by banning evictions (and defaults) in properties secured by Federal Housing Administration-insured (Fannie and Freddie) Single Family mortgages. On March 17, the Berkeley City Council passed an initial moratorium on evictions and suspended rent payments for tenants who been financially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic; the city council is expected to pass additional emergency legislation to strengthen the law to protect Berkeley residents and keep them in their homes. As a state agency, the university is generally exempt from regulations issued by a local government. As a result, the only way to protect students in university housing from evictions and unconscionable rent collections is for the university to voluntarily enact such a policy. Letting homeless and housing-insecure students live for free in otherwise empty university housing would only cost the university little to nothing. Additionally, the fact that the University is allowing students to move-out and receive a pro-rata refund means it is already budgeting for little to no revenue from housing for the remainder of the year. It is therefore clearly within the Univeristy's means to allow students already living in the dorms to not owe rent. Many students cannot simply move-out of the dorms and "go back home." For instance, they may not have another home to return to, may have a Bay Area job they need to support themselves and/or their family and which has not been halted by the pandemic, or their family home may be unsafe (e.g. if they've been rejected by their family for not being cis-hetero or if their family home is physically dangerous). This is literally a matter of life and death. If students are forced out onto the streets - either through a formal eviction or because they decide to move out early in order to avoid back rent they cannot repay, they could catch coronavirus and die, as well as infect other community members.

  468 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Berkeley Tenants Union ⠀