Transcripts For CSPAN3 House Democratic Leaders Hold News Co

Congressman clark held a News Conference about this weeks legislative agenda in congress. Hes the chair of the Democratic Caucus and she is the vice chair. Good morning everyone. We had a very emotional caucus call today. It was dedicated, largely, to remembrance is and reflections on the life and legacy of john robert lewis. Our dearly to parted colleague and civil rights hero and icon. He was a friend to everyone. A friend to truth and justice here in america and throughout the world. We had to special presentations. Professor meacham as well as don porter. Professor meacham of course is working on a biography of the life journey of john lewis. Don porter is the documentarian who produced the recently released documentary, john lewis, good trouble. John lewis always would council us, Council Young people, Council Others to never give up, never give in, never get out, keep the faith, keep our eyes on the price and continue the countrys long necessary and majestic march towards a more perfect union. That is what we will continue to do as House Democrats in his honor. This has been a very difficult year dealing with the dynamics of the covid19 pandemic. Both the Public Health crisis and the economic crisis. Addressing the continuing reality of systemic racism here in america. And now of course, the passing of the Legendary John lewis on the same day as reverend ctv vivian . Another stalwart hero of the Civil Rights Movement who passed away. Congressman lewis would have wanted us to continue our work with the fierce urgency of now. That is what we will continue to do later on today, as you know, Speaker Pelosi as well as leader schumer will be meeting with secretary mnuchin as well as white house chief of staff mark meadows to discuss th as ig the pain, suffering and death experienced by the American People as a result of the covid19 pandemic. House democrats acted in may. We understood then that the pandemic was not over, it was just getting started. Why has it taken so long for the white house and Senate Republicans to get serious . We have a situation where more than 140,000 americans have died. Almost 4 million americans have been infected. Over 50 million americans are unemployed. Heat economy is in a recession, possibly heading toward a depression and, the senate for months, the white house for months, has done nothing. It is time to act. Its time to act now. Its time to provide relief to the American People so we can decisively turn this coronavirus situation around. I yield to the distinguished vice chair of the caucus, catherine clark. Thank you mister chairman. Our caucus and our nation mourn the loss of our friend and colleague, the icon, the peacemaker, the justice seeker, john roberts lewis. Personally, i can tell you i never really got used to working with john lewis. It was never ordinary to even have a casual hello. A hug. His typical greeting of hello sister, welcome sister, how are you. Getting to walk back and forth to the capital, and even to plan a sitin. To be in his presence was always profound. John new oppression. He knew racial violence. He had been beaten, club, fat on, denigrated. He had experienced the worst forms of bigotry and he had seen the very worst of people. Yet it only seemed to deepen his fate and steal his determination. He emerged the kindest man i have ever known. His compassion, his integrity, it was the hallmark of everything he did. Big or small. I was very fortunate to be able to go on several pilgrimages with john to selma and walk this oval rights trail with him. To hear john lewis speak of the advance in 1965 march 7th, from that center, is a transformative one. That bridge is a very unique structure. It is a steep rise and then it flattens in the middle and then a steep descent. You realize standing with john, hearing him describe those events that it wasnt intel 25 year old john lewis was in the middle of that bridge, leading a column with Jose Williams and marchers, 600 strong. It wasnt until they were committed to crossing that bridge that he could see the violence that lay ahead, see this say they troopers, the angry mobs. Im sure you could feel the violence that was to come in the air. But john did not falter. He continued to march and we know what happened, they were aghast, they were trampled, they were beaten. But they reemerged stronger and marched again and made it to montgomery and made the Civil Rights Act the law of the land. This is a very similar spot to where we are as a country now, we are in the middle of that bridge. We can see what is ahead of us, we can see people who want to divide this country, who want to use the power of bigotry, who want to incite violence, who want to take away opportunity and want to destroy an inclusive economy. We are at a crossroads. This pandemic has brought so many of the structural and racial inequities to light. We have to honor the work of john lewis by doing the work of justice. We must honor him by restoring the Voting Rights act. We must honor him by signing the justice and policing act. When we must honor him by voting this week on the no ban act. We must confront persistent racism in our health care, in our economy, and in our criminal justice system. We must continue this work and there are so much to be done. John lewis has passed us the torch. We must march to gather and let his light, his unique and wonderful life be our guidepost as we go forward. Questions . Two questions, if i may on john lewis. Obviously with the pandemic it might be a little bit different, but is there any question of having a state capital meeting that would be socially distant. There is the next package of bills released yesterday do we know when they will receive that on the floor . I will defer to our resident appropriator on the leadership team, catherine on the second question and give her the opportunity to weigh in on the first question. Speaker pelosi has been in regular communication with the family of congressman lewis, they have clearly indicated that no arrangements should be made and were announced until the reverend vivian, a close friend of congressman lewis, and one of the pioneers of one of the Civil Rights Movements and the citizens, one of the architects of the strategy of non violence, and tell he has had his funeral and on thursday. After, my expectation is that the family will make the announcement as to the funeral and or Memorial Services or other types of ways in which we, even in the midst of a pandemic, can make sure that we honor the tremendous contributions of congressman lewis. Out of respect for the family, i am not going to weigh in on what should or shouldnt take place. Those discussions are occurring, the family will guide us as they always do. It is the appropriate way in which congressman lewis is life and legacy should be honored. It is my understanding that we will be taking the lodge Branch Appropriations bill, it is one that as a member of that subcommittee, that i am very proud of. Not only does it take care of the agencies within its jurisdiction, but it makes a clear statement that the symbols of treason and hatred that are in the capital, no longer have a place here. It is bringing a new level of accountability and transparency to our Capital Police and the work that they do. It is making sure that we have paid internships so that the opportunities opened here in our capital and the work that we do are open to all. There are many wonderful things about this bill, and we look forward to passing it in the house. Can you talk about the coronavirus, and are you willing to compromise particularly that out overall, democrats are always looking to find Common Ground out of recognition and that we are in an era of divided government. We have asked different pie partisan bills to date, but the heroes act should be the foundation of congress is fifth intervention at this moment. There are several important aspect of the heroes act, first and foremost, we provide 875 billion dollars in assistance to state and local stabilization. States across america have been hit incredibly hard. Their budgets have been decimated, if congress does not step in to provide assistance, then a bad situation in many of the states will continue to get worse. Those budget cuts will result in cuts in Public Health, public safety, public education, Public Transportation and a wide variety of public goods. That will add additional pain to the American People in the context of a pandemic. It seems to me that it would be cruel hearted and callous to cut off the extended and expanded Unemployment Benefits that are scheduled to expire right now on july 31st. The heroes act extends those Unemployment Benefits into next year. That is appropriate because the pandemic is not over. In many parts of the country it is just getting started. And, how clueless do you have to be to suggest that more than 50 million americans have been unemployed and displaced as a result of the pandemic and the mismanagement of it by this administration, that we should walk away from providing every day americans with the assistance that they need to make it through the storm. If Congress Goes over that cliff, who is that a failure of . It would be a failure of leadership in the senate and the white house. The house acted two months ago to extend the Expiration Date as a result of our desire to continue to intervene on behalf of the vidence suggests that wed to do so. We the white house seems to think that tax benefit should be included on this. What do you think of that . The payroll tax issue has never been part of our discussions here on the house Democratic Caucus side. It is not in the heroes act because there is no evidence that it is appropriate intervention. If you cut the payroll tax, who are you helping in terms of the broader context of tens of millions of americans being unemployed . They wont be paying the payroll tax because they are unemployed. It doesnt even appear that Senate Republicans support the idea of including the payroll tax. It seems to me that more of a president ial gimmick in an Election Year as opposed to a legitimate Public Policy based intervention on behalf of the American People. Let me yield to catherine. The payroll tax proposal by the white house is another incredibly frustrating and dangerous focus of this white house, when what they need to be doing is following the science. Where is the National Plan for testing and tracing . Where is the National Call for a plan to safely reopen schools . That is something we have not heard from this president. That is not something we have heard from our secretary of education. Yet, it is critically important to not only families but to the future of our children. To make sure that our teachers and staff are safe. Why is the president talking about a payroll tax instead of talking about childcare . If we do not theyll out childcare, we have the potential of losing 40 of all providers. That is a staggering economic effect for the 23 million families who depend on it. And also for the workforce and our employers who need those moms and dads to come back to work safely. If we dont follow the science, if we dont have testing and tracing and policies around social distancing, if we are not funding ppe and making sure that we are producing lifesaving equipment that we need, we are not going to have a healthy economy because it is totally dependent on having healthy americans. So this focus of this president , is just another example of his dangerous leadership, his preoccupation with his own poll numbers, with how wall street is doing. Worried about his own wealth and fortune. And ignoring the tragedy that is unfolding for the American People. Same topic, two questions if i may. The heroes act was passed two months ago plus, as you mentioned the conditions have worsened and a lot of places around the country. It seems highly unlikely that the allotments that were proposed and passed at the time are still relevant, are still appropriate. With that in mind, do you see any places within that bill where would you would need more, some places you would be less, as these negotiations go forward you need more than three trillion that was in the heroes act . And Speaker Pelosi said she would like to have this wrapped up through the house by the end of next week, is that realistic . It seems like the sides are pretty far apart. The speaker has made clear that the Democratic Caucus was addressing this issue with the fierce urgency of now. That is both the legislative calendar and finishing it by july 31st. The American People need a meaningful and transformative intervention so that they can turn around. Our position is our position. It is in the public domain. It is the heroes act. Initially senator mcconnell and the white house took the position that nothing needed to happen and the states should declare bankruptcy. That was a morally bankrupt position that senator mcconnell it articulated. He is now moved away from that this. And initially they said, maybe we should do a trillion dollars. The crisis hasnt gotten better, they got worse. Apparently now they are saying maybe we need to do at least two trillion dollars. They are moving closer to our position. Which is our position. What is in the heroes act as it relates to Unemployment Insurance . Another round of direct stimulus payments. Childcare assistance. Assistance for renters and homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages and their right. As well as robust assistance to the states and localities and it is central to be able to turn this around in addition to additional funding testing, tracing, and treatment. And eventually being able to have the Infrastructure Ready to universally administer a vaccine. I would like to add to that, to go back to childcare, as the chairman mentioned. That is the example of how we have the heroes act, we passed it two months ago, the need now is greater than it was. And we are going to continue to meet that need for american families. That is why next week we are bringing to bills around childcare assistance. Because we needs 50 billion dollars to stabilize childcare and make sure that we dont lose almost half of almost all providers. That capacity to be able to serve children and families. We also are going to be passing a bill that has a Grant Program that i proposed, ten billion dollar Grant Program that will help providers meet the infrastructure needs that they have. A provider i talked to in my District Needs to filled a vestibule on her child care home so that she can check temperatures and assist Childrens Health before bringing them into her home with her own family and children. Whether it is buying equipment that can sanitize toys or putting out modular walls, we need to have that kind of investment so that we can safely provide the care that we need. And third, we need to make this affordable for families. That is why there are tax credits within those bills to try and help make childcare what it is, to show by investment that we understand that this is essential infrastructure. That we are not going to have an economic recovery unless we make the long, overdue investments. That includes looking at wages. 96 of child care providers are women, 40 of them are women of color. They are chronically underpaid. So part of this is also an Economic Justice issue, and that is how the house caucus is approaching this pandemic. The heroes act stands on its own. We need it now more than we did two months ago. As we see our numbers, as the chairman outlined, its reaching record heights in this pandemic. But we also have to keep being flexible and meeting the needs of American People as they develop. But that is what we are committed to doing. Those are crucial needs and they are related to the coronavirus emergency, then why not fight for them in something that is going to pass like the next round of relief. If the house passes standalone childcare bills, the senate will not take them on. Negotiations are ongoing right now. It is my understanding that as they escalate, later on this afternoon, that everything that should be on the table will be on the table. But the framework for reaching an agreement is the heroes act. The coronavirus is a once in a century pandemic that requires a once in a century meaningful, congressional intervention. That is what we did when we pass the heroes act. That is the type of agreement we need to come to at this moment. Last question. Last question, different topic. Looking at new york city and facility 12 and 15 and the absentee vote counting, are you concerned that that is a bad sign . There is reason to be concerned given that dynamics of protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of the American People. And also making sure that everyone can carry out their constitutional right to vote in the context of a pandemic. There are a lot of challenges with the elections that took place most recently in new york, georgia and in other parts of the country. That is why in the cares act, House Democrats fought for 400 News Conference<\/a> about this weeks legislative agenda in congress. Hes the chair of the Democratic Caucus<\/a> and she is the vice chair. Good morning everyone. We had a very emotional caucus call today. It was dedicated, largely, to remembrance is and reflections on the life and legacy of john robert lewis. Our dearly to parted colleague and civil rights hero and icon. He was a friend to everyone. A friend to truth and justice here in america and throughout the world. We had to special presentations. Professor meacham as well as don porter. Professor meacham of course is working on a biography of the life journey of john lewis. Don porter is the documentarian who produced the recently released documentary, john lewis, good trouble. John lewis always would council us, Council Young<\/a> people, Council Others<\/a> to never give up, never give in, never get out, keep the faith, keep our eyes on the price and continue the countrys long necessary and majestic march towards a more perfect union. That is what we will continue to do as House Democrats<\/a> in his honor. This has been a very difficult year dealing with the dynamics of the covid19 pandemic. Both the Public Health<\/a> crisis and the economic crisis. Addressing the continuing reality of systemic racism here in america. And now of course, the passing of the Legendary John<\/a> lewis on the same day as reverend ctv vivian . Another stalwart hero of the Civil Rights Movement<\/a> who passed away. Congressman lewis would have wanted us to continue our work with the fierce urgency of now. That is what we will continue to do later on today, as you know, Speaker Pelosi<\/a> as well as leader schumer will be meeting with secretary mnuchin as well as white house chief of staff mark meadows to discuss th as ig the pain, suffering and death experienced by the American People<\/a> as a result of the covid19 pandemic. House democrats acted in may. We understood then that the pandemic was not over, it was just getting started. Why has it taken so long for the white house and Senate Republicans<\/a> to get serious . We have a situation where more than 140,000 americans have died. Almost 4 million americans have been infected. Over 50 million americans are unemployed. Heat economy is in a recession, possibly heading toward a depression and, the senate for months, the white house for months, has done nothing. It is time to act. Its time to act now. Its time to provide relief to the American People<\/a> so we can decisively turn this coronavirus situation around. I yield to the distinguished vice chair of the caucus, catherine clark. Thank you mister chairman. Our caucus and our nation mourn the loss of our friend and colleague, the icon, the peacemaker, the justice seeker, john roberts lewis. Personally, i can tell you i never really got used to working with john lewis. It was never ordinary to even have a casual hello. A hug. His typical greeting of hello sister, welcome sister, how are you. Getting to walk back and forth to the capital, and even to plan a sitin. To be in his presence was always profound. John new oppression. He knew racial violence. He had been beaten, club, fat on, denigrated. He had experienced the worst forms of bigotry and he had seen the very worst of people. Yet it only seemed to deepen his fate and steal his determination. He emerged the kindest man i have ever known. His compassion, his integrity, it was the hallmark of everything he did. Big or small. I was very fortunate to be able to go on several pilgrimages with john to selma and walk this oval rights trail with him. To hear john lewis speak of the advance in 1965 march 7th, from that center, is a transformative one. That bridge is a very unique structure. It is a steep rise and then it flattens in the middle and then a steep descent. You realize standing with john, hearing him describe those events that it wasnt intel 25 year old john lewis was in the middle of that bridge, leading a column with Jose Williams<\/a> and marchers, 600 strong. It wasnt until they were committed to crossing that bridge that he could see the violence that lay ahead, see this say they troopers, the angry mobs. Im sure you could feel the violence that was to come in the air. But john did not falter. He continued to march and we know what happened, they were aghast, they were trampled, they were beaten. But they reemerged stronger and marched again and made it to montgomery and made the Civil Rights Act<\/a> the law of the land. This is a very similar spot to where we are as a country now, we are in the middle of that bridge. We can see what is ahead of us, we can see people who want to divide this country, who want to use the power of bigotry, who want to incite violence, who want to take away opportunity and want to destroy an inclusive economy. We are at a crossroads. This pandemic has brought so many of the structural and racial inequities to light. We have to honor the work of john lewis by doing the work of justice. We must honor him by restoring the Voting Rights<\/a> act. We must honor him by signing the justice and policing act. When we must honor him by voting this week on the no ban act. We must confront persistent racism in our health care, in our economy, and in our criminal justice system. We must continue this work and there are so much to be done. John lewis has passed us the torch. We must march to gather and let his light, his unique and wonderful life be our guidepost as we go forward. Questions . Two questions, if i may on john lewis. Obviously with the pandemic it might be a little bit different, but is there any question of having a state capital meeting that would be socially distant. There is the next package of bills released yesterday do we know when they will receive that on the floor . I will defer to our resident appropriator on the leadership team, catherine on the second question and give her the opportunity to weigh in on the first question. Speaker pelosi has been in regular communication with the family of congressman lewis, they have clearly indicated that no arrangements should be made and were announced until the reverend vivian, a close friend of congressman lewis, and one of the pioneers of one of the Civil Rights Movement<\/a>s and the citizens, one of the architects of the strategy of non violence, and tell he has had his funeral and on thursday. After, my expectation is that the family will make the announcement as to the funeral and or Memorial Services<\/a> or other types of ways in which we, even in the midst of a pandemic, can make sure that we honor the tremendous contributions of congressman lewis. Out of respect for the family, i am not going to weigh in on what should or shouldnt take place. Those discussions are occurring, the family will guide us as they always do. It is the appropriate way in which congressman lewis is life and legacy should be honored. It is my understanding that we will be taking the lodge Branch Appropriations<\/a> bill, it is one that as a member of that subcommittee, that i am very proud of. Not only does it take care of the agencies within its jurisdiction, but it makes a clear statement that the symbols of treason and hatred that are in the capital, no longer have a place here. It is bringing a new level of accountability and transparency to our Capital Police<\/a> and the work that they do. It is making sure that we have paid internships so that the opportunities opened here in our capital and the work that we do are open to all. There are many wonderful things about this bill, and we look forward to passing it in the house. Can you talk about the coronavirus, and are you willing to compromise particularly that out overall, democrats are always looking to find Common Ground<\/a> out of recognition and that we are in an era of divided government. We have asked different pie partisan bills to date, but the heroes act should be the foundation of congress is fifth intervention at this moment. There are several important aspect of the heroes act, first and foremost, we provide 875 billion dollars in assistance to state and local stabilization. States across america have been hit incredibly hard. Their budgets have been decimated, if congress does not step in to provide assistance, then a bad situation in many of the states will continue to get worse. Those budget cuts will result in cuts in Public Health<\/a>, public safety, public education, Public Transportation<\/a> and a wide variety of public goods. That will add additional pain to the American People<\/a> in the context of a pandemic. It seems to me that it would be cruel hearted and callous to cut off the extended and expanded Unemployment Benefits<\/a> that are scheduled to expire right now on july 31st. The heroes act extends those Unemployment Benefits<\/a> into next year. That is appropriate because the pandemic is not over. In many parts of the country it is just getting started. And, how clueless do you have to be to suggest that more than 50 million americans have been unemployed and displaced as a result of the pandemic and the mismanagement of it by this administration, that we should walk away from providing every day americans with the assistance that they need to make it through the storm. If Congress Goes<\/a> over that cliff, who is that a failure of . It would be a failure of leadership in the senate and the white house. The house acted two months ago to extend the Expiration Date<\/a> as a result of our desire to continue to intervene on behalf of the vidence suggests that wed to do so. We the white house seems to think that tax benefit should be included on this. What do you think of that . The payroll tax issue has never been part of our discussions here on the house Democratic Caucus<\/a> side. It is not in the heroes act because there is no evidence that it is appropriate intervention. If you cut the payroll tax, who are you helping in terms of the broader context of tens of millions of americans being unemployed . They wont be paying the payroll tax because they are unemployed. It doesnt even appear that Senate Republicans<\/a> support the idea of including the payroll tax. It seems to me that more of a president ial gimmick in an Election Year<\/a> as opposed to a legitimate Public Policy<\/a> based intervention on behalf of the American People<\/a>. Let me yield to catherine. The payroll tax proposal by the white house is another incredibly frustrating and dangerous focus of this white house, when what they need to be doing is following the science. Where is the National Plan<\/a> for testing and tracing . Where is the National Call<\/a> for a plan to safely reopen schools . That is something we have not heard from this president. That is not something we have heard from our secretary of education. Yet, it is critically important to not only families but to the future of our children. To make sure that our teachers and staff are safe. Why is the president talking about a payroll tax instead of talking about childcare . If we do not theyll out childcare, we have the potential of losing 40 of all providers. That is a staggering economic effect for the 23 million families who depend on it. And also for the workforce and our employers who need those moms and dads to come back to work safely. If we dont follow the science, if we dont have testing and tracing and policies around social distancing, if we are not funding ppe and making sure that we are producing lifesaving equipment that we need, we are not going to have a healthy economy because it is totally dependent on having healthy americans. So this focus of this president , is just another example of his dangerous leadership, his preoccupation with his own poll numbers, with how wall street is doing. Worried about his own wealth and fortune. And ignoring the tragedy that is unfolding for the American People<\/a>. Same topic, two questions if i may. The heroes act was passed two months ago plus, as you mentioned the conditions have worsened and a lot of places around the country. It seems highly unlikely that the allotments that were proposed and passed at the time are still relevant, are still appropriate. With that in mind, do you see any places within that bill where would you would need more, some places you would be less, as these negotiations go forward you need more than three trillion that was in the heroes act . And Speaker Pelosi<\/a> said she would like to have this wrapped up through the house by the end of next week, is that realistic . It seems like the sides are pretty far apart. The speaker has made clear that the Democratic Caucus<\/a> was addressing this issue with the fierce urgency of now. That is both the legislative calendar and finishing it by july 31st. The American People<\/a> need a meaningful and transformative intervention so that they can turn around. Our position is our position. It is in the public domain. It is the heroes act. Initially senator mcconnell and the white house took the position that nothing needed to happen and the states should declare bankruptcy. That was a morally bankrupt position that senator mcconnell it articulated. He is now moved away from that this. And initially they said, maybe we should do a trillion dollars. The crisis hasnt gotten better, they got worse. Apparently now they are saying maybe we need to do at least two trillion dollars. They are moving closer to our position. Which is our position. What is in the heroes act as it relates to Unemployment Insurance<\/a> . Another round of direct stimulus payments. Childcare assistance. Assistance for renters and homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages and their right. As well as robust assistance to the states and localities and it is central to be able to turn this around in addition to additional funding testing, tracing, and treatment. And eventually being able to have the Infrastructure Ready<\/a> to universally administer a vaccine. I would like to add to that, to go back to childcare, as the chairman mentioned. That is the example of how we have the heroes act, we passed it two months ago, the need now is greater than it was. And we are going to continue to meet that need for american families. That is why next week we are bringing to bills around childcare assistance. Because we needs 50 billion dollars to stabilize childcare and make sure that we dont lose almost half of almost all providers. That capacity to be able to serve children and families. We also are going to be passing a bill that has a Grant Program<\/a> that i proposed, ten billion dollar Grant Program<\/a> that will help providers meet the infrastructure needs that they have. A provider i talked to in my District Needs<\/a> to filled a vestibule on her child care home so that she can check temperatures and assist Childrens Health<\/a> before bringing them into her home with her own family and children. Whether it is buying equipment that can sanitize toys or putting out modular walls, we need to have that kind of investment so that we can safely provide the care that we need. And third, we need to make this affordable for families. That is why there are tax credits within those bills to try and help make childcare what it is, to show by investment that we understand that this is essential infrastructure. That we are not going to have an economic recovery unless we make the long, overdue investments. That includes looking at wages. 96 of child care providers are women, 40 of them are women of color. They are chronically underpaid. So part of this is also an Economic Justice<\/a> issue, and that is how the house caucus is approaching this pandemic. The heroes act stands on its own. We need it now more than we did two months ago. As we see our numbers, as the chairman outlined, its reaching record heights in this pandemic. But we also have to keep being flexible and meeting the needs of American People<\/a> as they develop. But that is what we are committed to doing. Those are crucial needs and they are related to the coronavirus emergency, then why not fight for them in something that is going to pass like the next round of relief. If the house passes standalone childcare bills, the senate will not take them on. Negotiations are ongoing right now. It is my understanding that as they escalate, later on this afternoon, that everything that should be on the table will be on the table. But the framework for reaching an agreement is the heroes act. The coronavirus is a once in a century pandemic that requires a once in a century meaningful, congressional intervention. That is what we did when we pass the heroes act. That is the type of agreement we need to come to at this moment. Last question. Last question, different topic. Looking at new york city and facility 12 and 15 and the absentee vote counting, are you concerned that that is a bad sign . There is reason to be concerned given that dynamics of protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of the American People<\/a>. And also making sure that everyone can carry out their constitutional right to vote in the context of a pandemic. There are a lot of challenges with the elections that took place most recently in new york, georgia and in other parts of the country. That is why in the cares act, House Democrats<\/a> fought for 400 Million Dollars<\/a> in Election Security<\/a> grants, so that we can help states and localities administer their elections in a manner that allows for voting from home, early voting, and adequate pulsates. Given the need to socially distanced, we have included in the heroes act a 3. 6 billion so that we can complete the job and ensure that in america no one has to choose between their health, safety and wellbeing on the one hand and their constitutional right to vote on the other. Thank you everyone","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia601902.us.archive.org\/24\/items\/CSPAN3_20200721_222500_House_Democratic_Leaders_Hold_News_Conference_on_Legislative_Agenda\/CSPAN3_20200721_222500_House_Democratic_Leaders_Hold_News_Conference_on_Legislative_Agenda.thumbs\/CSPAN3_20200721_222500_House_Democratic_Leaders_Hold_News_Conference_on_Legislative_Agenda_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240716T12:35:10+00:00"}