Essential workers. USPS. Vote by mail. And more.

The House passed the HEROES Act, filled with our priorities to provide real relief now to the people who need it most.

Dear MoveOn member,

Democrats in Congress have heard us, and on Friday the House passed the HEROES Act, a coronavirus relief bill of historic proportions that seeks to provide immediate support for struggling Americans, protect our elections, and finally put people first. 

MoveOn members have collected millions of petition signatures, made tens of thousands of calls, shown up to online actions, and raised our voices to demand real relief now, including protections for essential workers, student debt relief, and so much more that has now passed the House and is heading to the Senate.

The HEROES Act, which was passed on Friday, includes many of our key priorities: 

• Essential Workers Bill of Rights: robust provisions, including hazard pay, paid sick leave, child care support, OSHA protections, access to PPE, and more. Over a million members signed the petition for hazard pay, and now House Democrats are echoing this demand.
• Relief that includes immigrants: makes strides to fix previous wrongs by extending authorization for DACA and TPS, including immigrants in health care and financial relief programs, and decreasing detention in unsafe conditions.
• Postal Service funding: provides $25 billion in funding to protect this vital institution that employs hundreds of thousands and people and will play a key role in our election in November. Hundreds of thousands of MoveOn members have demanded support to save the post office, and we'll keep up this fight.
• Protect Our Vote: gives $3.6 billion in funding for election protection, expands access to absentee ballots and early voting, and institutes same-day voter registration—which MoveOn members have been calling for for years, and a fight we plan to continue in key states. 

Our collective work with allies across the progressive and labor movements ensured this bill centered the needs of people, not corporations. This is a historic legislative package and includes critical measures to shore up state and city governments and blunt the worst economic impacts of this pandemic that Trump's failed response has exacerbated. But now it will face opposition from Republicans who seem set to allow Americans to suffer, the economy to worsen, and the health crisis to deepen, rather than taking bold action.

It is not too late to weigh in as the fight now moves to the Senate. Sign these petitions and share with friends before they are delivered to ensure the Senate knows it must pass #RealReliefNow:

• Tell Congress: Essential workers deserve essential protections
• Fully Fund the United States Postal Service

There's still more work to be done, including fighting for the Paycheck Guarantee Act, which keeps folks employed; sustained and direct payments beyond one-time stimulus checks; rent and mortgage cancelation; and taking on student debt. We knew it was unlikely that one bill could address all of the tremendous need in this moment, so we'll keep working with champions on the Hill and across the U.S. for these priorities and to ensure the HEROES Act passes the Senate and becomes law.

Mitch McConnell has said he's not interested in holding a vote, even though he defied social distancing orders to bring senators back to D.C. during the pandemic. What could be more important and timely than providing relief to the millions of people suffering? Republicans have the chance to provide individual relief, support cities and states, fortify our elections, and protect essential workers—or they can turn their backs and support only big corporations.

We need to keep up the pressure. The country needs to see whose side their elected officials are on. That is why MoveOn is joining partners like Greenpeace, RuralOrganizing.org, and the American Postal Workers Union in Washington, D.C., to deliver millions of petition signatures to ensure the Senate hears loud and clear that the American people need more relief now.

Sign and share the petitions before they are delivered to the Senate soon: 

• Tell Congress: Essential workers deserve essential protections
• Fully Fund the United States Postal Service

Thanks for all you do.

–Emma, Jenn, Emily, Cheryl, and the rest of the team

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