Progressives unveil 2021 agenda to pressure Biden – POLITICO

Eight members of Congress, including prominent progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, are backing the program. A handful of likely incoming House freshmen, along with the Service Employees International Union, Electoral Justice Project of the Movement for Black Lives and climate advocacy group Sunrise Movement, are also on board.

"There is no doubt we need to evict Donald Trump and immediately begin the work of repairing and rebuilding stronger, said Pressley. Our country is facing overlapping crises of public health, economic inequality and systemic racism. The People's Charter offers a pathway to work together toward healing and justice for everyone.

Biden supports some of the planks of the proposal, such as free Covid-19 testing and a ban on evictions and foreclosures during the pandemic. But he has already come out against other items, such as implementing single-payer health care and reducing police funding.

Its putting a stake in the ground that we believe Joe Biden can become a New Deal 2.0 president, said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), another member of Congress who has signed onto the plan. He has talked about the crisis that Roosevelt faced. He has talked about wanting to have a new New Deal for the 21st century. That should be the direction he goes instead of the incrementalism of the 90s.

Philadelphia City Councilwoman Kendra Brooks, one of several local and state officials who are supporting the plan, added that its something that gives voters some enthusiasm.

Maurice Moe Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said the organization will promote the agenda as part of its campaign to persuade progressive voters to cast a ballot for Biden.

We endorsed Elizabeth Warren and then we endorsed Bernie Sanders, so its not surprising that our party and our base have some policy differences with Joe Biden, said Mitchell. People, in order to be enthusiastic about voting, need to vote for something and the Peoples Charter provides folks with something that is outside of candidates politics to vote for. It also sets up conditions postelection to articulate that this election was a referendum on this agenda.

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Progressives unveil 2021 agenda to pressure Biden - POLITICO

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