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Americans expect and deserve elected representatives who put the interests of their constituents and the health of our democracy first – especially when both are threatened by a pandemic. But instead, the Senate Republicans’ long-overdue COVID-19 relief package undermines the accuracy of the 2020 census, gives corporations the immunity they’ve lobbied for, slashes weekly jobless aid, and short-changes our democracy all in one fell swoop. Senate foot-dragging on this relief package already allowed the eviction moratorium in the CARES Act to expire – likely adding disenfranchisement to the host of life-altering problems faced by thousands of newly-homeless Americans.

Today, House Majority Whip Clyburn and the House Rural Broadband Task Force along with leadership in the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced the “Accessible, Affordable, Internet for All Act.” The comprehensive legislation provides $80 billion of funding for broadband deployment while enabling affordable options for broadband adoption, creating digital equity programs, enhancing data collection regarding the price and quality of broadband networks, and protecting community broadband.

The HEROES Act takes critical steps to help secure essential pillars of our democracy undermined by the COVID-19 pandemic while providing a huge boost to address the public health and economic crises. The bill provides important bulwarks to help safeguard our elections, the Census, the U.S. Postal Service, and includes enhanced oversight requirements for the stimulus package that were sorely lacking in CARES Act passed by Congress in late March.

Today, Common Cause called on Congress to prioritize funding for key elements of our democracy in the next COVID-19 emergency supplemental appropriations bill (“CARES 2.0”). The letter urges every Member of Congress to designate sufficient funding in the stimulus package to secure essential pillars of our democracy threatened by the pandemic and to ensure proper safeguards are put into place to oversee government disbursement of trillions of dollars in stimulus funds. The elements highlighted in the letter include critical efforts to safeguard our elections, the Census, the U.S. Postal Service, access to broadband internet service, as well as local journalism and to fully staff and prioritize the CARES Act Congressional Oversight Commission.

In comments filed yesterday, Common Cause and New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) criticized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for failing to protect public safety and low-income Americans’ access to the internet. The comments were filed in response to a federal court order that admonished the FCC for ignoring these critical issues when it repealed net neutrality rules in 2017. Common Cause and OTI called this failure a “dereliction of duty” and urged the agency to correct its past mistakes. The comments also highlighted the ways in which the FCC’s misguided repeal of net neutrality has undermined the agency’s ability to protect people during the COVID-19 pandemic and expand access to the Lifeline program.

Today, Common Cause called on Congress to provide funding to safeguard key elements of our democracy in the next COVID-19 emergency supplemental funding bill. The letter urges every Member of Congress to provide significant funding in the stimulus package to backstop vital elements of our democracy and to ensure proper safeguards are put into place to oversee government disbursement of trillions of dollars in stimulus funds. In the face of the pandemic, Common Cause calls for funding to safeguard our elections, the Census, the U.S. Postal Service, access to broadband internet service, as well as local journalism and to fully staff and prioritize the CARES Act Congressional Oversight Commission.