Velázquez Unveils Bill to Aid Vulnerable Populations in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-LES, Brooklyn, Queens) introduced legislation to help community health centers protect New Yorkers with preexisting conditions.
The COVID-19 Prevention and Awareness Act (CPAA) would allocate $2.12 billion in funding for community-based non-profits, which would fund key diagnostic tests and screenings for conditions that can leave patients vulnerable to COVID-19.
“COVID-19 has torn through our communities, leaving its greatest devastation in underserved communities of color in New York City and our nation,” said Velázquez. “That is why my first bill of 2021 is focused on tackling the health disparities that plague our society and have left underserved communities more likely to be battling or at-risk for diseases such as cancer, asthma, and heart disease, that increase the seriousness and fatality rate from a COVID-19 infection.
“This pandemic has laid bare the systemic health inequalities that exist in America, and that is why I am proposing $2.12 billion in grant funding to help qualifying community health centers increase prevention and awareness efforts to crush the coronavirus, especially in our hardest-hit neighborhoods.”
Nadler Blasts Trump for Pressuring GA SoS to Change Election Results
U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) released a statement on Sunday in response to a leaked phone call that had President Donald Trump (R) urging Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn his loss in the state.
During the phone call, Trump berated and badgered the Secretary of State, demanding that he “find” at least 11,000 votes in his favor to change the result.
“President Trump lost the 2020 presidential election,” said Nadler. “Either he is unwell, and really believes he won in Georgia despite all evidence to the contrary, or he knows better, and thinks he can use his office to pressure state officials to change the outcome of the election. Either way, he remains profoundly unfit for office. In threatening these officials with vague ‘criminal’ consequences, and in encouraging them to ‘find’ additional votes and hire investigators who ‘want to find answers,’ the President may have also subjected himself to additional criminal liability.
“The burden now falls to men and women of good conscience to contain the damage Donald Trump seems intent on causing on his way out the door. His bad faith lawsuits, his conspiracy theories, and his outright lies are destined to fail—indeed, have mostly failed already—but are no less dangerous to our country because of it. The American people will draw a straight line from President Trump’s phone call, where he implores a state official to ‘find’ the 11,780 votes he needs to overcome his margin of defeat in Georgia, to the efforts of certain members of the House and Senate to block President-Elect Biden’s victory when the Electoral College results are certified. Both tactics are reckless, deeply selfish, and place love of power over commitment to our democratic process.”
Stringer Comes Out in Support of NASDAQ’s Diversity Proposal
Yesterday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer (D) sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in support of Nasdaq’s newly proposed board diversity rule.
A new proposal from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC would require companies on Nasdaq’s stock exchange to disclose whether they have at least one woman and one racial minority or LGBTQ person on their board. The companies that do not meet this standard would have to explain why.
“While the utility and impact of the Proposed Rules can be materially improved by requiring greater specificity, we welcome this systemic framework whereby all Nasdaq-listed companies report board diversity data transparently and comparably,” wrote Stringer.
Read the full letter here.
