Maloney Unveils New Bill Requiring Production of PPE
Last Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D) unveiled legislation to secure our nation’s stock of PPE.
The Made in America: Preparation for a Pandemic Act would require that the U.S. maintain at least enough PPE in the Strategic National Stockpile to last a year. It would also require that at least 25 percent of that PPE is manufactured domestically.
Maloney announced the legislation at a press conference on Wednesday, alongside members of New York’s fashion industry.
“Having strong domestic production of PPE is absolutely essential to keeping Americans safe in the midst of a global pandemic,” said Maloney. “Too many lives have been lost unnecessarily because broken global supply chains left our essential workers without the equipment they needed.”
Nadler and Co. Demand End to Policies Discriminating Against LGBTQ Individuals
Yesterday, U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) and Chris Pappas (D-NH), along with Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) lead a coalition of their colleagues to call on President Donald Trump (R) to remove all policies, regulations and executive orders that discriminate against LGBTQ people.
In a letter to the President, the electeds wrote that since taking office, Trump has largely governed under the assumption that laws against sex discrimination don’t protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County codified the fact that it does.
“The Supreme Court’s unambiguous rejection of these discriminatory arguments means that the harmful policies put in place by your administration to permit discrimination against the LGBTQ community must immediately be reviewed and revoked or revised to make clear that protections apply to all people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” they wrote. “The law requires this action.”
Read the full letter here.
De La Rosa, Rivera Call for Prison Reform
Yesterday, Assemblymember Carmen de la Rosa (D-Upper Manhattan) and State Senator Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx) wrote an op-ed for the Gotham Gazette to address the need for prison reform.
The lawmakers are currently sponsoring two bills that would address the problems with New York’s prison system. The first, the Elder Parole Act, would allow the Parole Board to give prisoners over 55 a chance at release once they’ve served at least 15 years. The second, the Fair and Timely Parole Act, would force the Parole Board to make their decisions based on the prisoners’ current behavior, rather than the nature of their crime.
“People can be held accountable without being sentenced to die in prison. Victims and survivors can find healing without the person or people who harmed them facing a lifetime of punishment and torture. New York can promote safety and decarceration at the same time. We are ready to address these forms of state violence by passing two bills this state legislative session: our Elder Parole Act and the Fair and Timely Parole Act.”
Read the full article here.
Espaillat Condemns Trump Admin for Kicking Out Student Visa Holders
U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan, Bronx) released a statement yesterday following the Trump administration’s decision to bar international student visa holders from U.S. higher learning institutions.
Last monday, the Administration announced that student visa holders will have to leave the country if their school’s classes will be conducted entirely online this fall.
“The Trump Administration’s decision to bar international student visa holders from the United States whose institutions of higher education are conducting online-only courses the fall, in the midst of a deadly pandemic that requires social distancing to remain safe, is yet another unnecessary attack on our immigration system and a self-inflicted blow to America’s global leadership,” said Espaillat. “Trump’s short-sighted policy is extremely harmful and devasting to students, our nation’s premier institutions of higher education and research, the American economy and the future competitiveness of our nation. The administration is not only exploiting the pandemic to expel individuals here lawfully; it is also attempting to perpetuate its mythical narrative that the crisis is over by forcing universities to reopen prematurely despite serious health and safety concerns.”
