Jeffries Statement on Early Census End
U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn, Queens) released the following statement on the premature last day of Census enumeration owing to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to halt counting early.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to cut short the Census count at President Trump’s request all but guarantees that there will not be a complete and accurate 2020 Census. The Census Bureau’s own experts have said as much.
From the start of the 2020 Census, well before the deadly coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration has deliberately tried to undermine the process required for a fair count. An undercount in the Census will disproportionately hurt communities of color and rural populations. For this administration, this is not a coincidence. It is the point.
House Democrats have fought every step of the way against the Trump administration’s attempts to undermine our nation’s Census because we know that a fair count is critical to our communities getting the funding and representation we deserve. Today, across the vibrant mosaic of the House Democratic Caucus, we are urging our constituents to make sure they respond to the 2020 Census before tonight’s deadline.
It is not too late to get counted by visiting 2020Census.gov, calling 844-330-2020 or by answering a few short questions if a Census enumerator comes to your door. We must get counted like our life depends on it, because our quality of life absolutely depends on it.”
Brannan Legislation for Federal Hazard Pay
City Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach) and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams introduced a resolution calling on the federal government to enact legislation that would provide hazard pay for workers who were deemed essential and have been required to report to work in person throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The resolution specifically supports the idea of a “Heroes’ Fund,” floated by Democrats in the US Senate, which would offer all essential workers a $25,000 pay increase for the year.
“For the enormity of what essential workers have done for us in New York City and around the country, we will never be able to give big enough thanks,” Brannan said. “But we owe it to them to try. Offering significant financial compensation for what they did and what they and their families went through would be a start, and would speak louder than any public statements of gratitude we can make.”
“These are people whose work we realized we could not get by without, even in the midst of a fast-spreading, deadly disease,” Brannan said. “If their work is that essential, and it is, then it’s mind-boggling and morally wrong that they’re making peanuts. The US government should be doing everything it can to make that right, and that’s what we’re calling for.”
Adams Commemorates 25th Anniversary of Million Man March
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will join Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and City Councilmember Donovan Richards (D-Queens) along with and Man Up! Inc. Executive Director A.T. Mitchell today to hold a march across the Brooklyn Bridge with men of color to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Million Man March, which took place in Washington, DC in 1995.
The march, which will end at Foley Square in Manhattan, will highlight the ways men of color in New York City and throughout the country are getting involved in their communities in a variety of ways, from upholding public safety to promoting economic opportunity, and urge others to join the endeavor. It comes in the midst of an extremely challenging year, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disproportionately impact communities of color, and the country again reckons with a legacy of racial injustice, most recently underscored by a spate of high-profile police killings of Black and Brown men and women that have catalyzed widespread protests.
Marchers are slated to gather at 10 a.m., today, Oct. 16 at Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn. The march will begin at 12 noon across the Brooklyn Bridge using the Tillary Street entrance. It will conclude at 12:30 with a brief speaking program at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan.
Gillibrand Address PFAS Contamination
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand pressed Senate and House Armed Services Committee leadership to maintain critical per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) provisions in the final FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“Our service members risk their lives to keep us safe, and Congress has a duty to protect their health and provide the resources needed. These important provisions will help us better understand the scope and consequences of toxic PFAS exposure, preserve the health of our service members, and find safe alternatives,” said Gillibrand. “Our men and women in uniform should be able to trust that their water, environment, and equipment is not destroying their health. I was proud to push for these provisions in the bipartisan Senate-passed NDAA and I insist House and Senate leadership ensure they are included in the final bill to combat the urgent issue of PFAS contamination.”
Because of the use of aqueous firefighting foam (AFFF) by the military, PFAS chemicals, like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), have contaminated more than 600 military bases across the country and threatened drinking water safety. America’s firefighters also experience high risk of PFAS exposure — which has been linked to birth defects, various forms of cancer, and immune system dysfunction — during use of AFFF in firefighting and fire-training exercises, these substances have also been found in their PPE.
