Ask Congress to Support Our Families!

The United States Senate is considering the next relief bill. ACTION is asking our senators to provide the relief needed by families - unemployment support, rent assistance, stimulus funds, support for states' revenue loss, and debt protections.

Reach out to your friends and family and invite them to sign, so that our senators know this is important to families in Oklahoma. We ask you the same question we asked our candidates, are YOU H.E.R.E. with us?

PETITION FOR A STIMULUS PACKAGE THAT WILL PROTECT FAMILIES, THE ECONOMY, AND PUBLIC HEALTH

 

Senators Lankford, Inhofe and members of the House,

ACTION (Allied Communities of Tulsa Inspiring Our Neighborhoods), is a coalition of seventeen houses of worship, civic organizations, PTAs and community groups that represents thousands of Tulsans.  As leaders and clergy of ACTION, we see a tremendous need for meaningful and responsible action from the federal government in support of the people of this nation, and we call on you and your colleagues to swiftly pass a second stimulus package.  We seek a new package that:

  • Continues the full $600 per week supplemental unemployment insurance; which not only supports local families but also supports local businesses and props the economy.
  • Provides $100 billion in rent assistance so families can pay their rent; thereby relieving the impending crisis in evictions and supporting local property owners.
  • Makes a stimulus payment to all taxpayers using a social security number or ITIN ($1,200) and their children ($500); which, in turn, allows for consumer spending to continue, helping the entire economic system survive the pandemic.  In the first package, mixed status families and ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) filers were excluded, leaving many in precarious situations and causing undue and unnecessary economic strife for families, communities and parishes. Everyone who pays taxes must be included in this next round of stimulus.
  • Shores up states’ revenue, and assures that Oklahoma schools, already critically-underfunded, have the resources needed to effectively and safely provide both virtual and in-person classes that keep our children, staff and teachers safe.
  • Increases the federal share of Medicaid dollars without narrowing Medicaid eligibility, which will provide relief to state budgets, while keeping the most vulnerable insured.
  • Takes crucial action to protect consumers trapped by debt so that the economy is not further eroded, such as suspension of student loan payments, a 36% cap on payday loans, and protecting any relief payments from being seized by debt collectors.

As clergy and participants in non-profit work throughout Tulsa, we have seen increasing stress placed on our communities by the one-two punch of public health and economic crises resulting from the pandemic. Since neither crisis has reached much resolution at this point, the people we see having once been buoyed by a stimulus package are again staring in the face the very real possibility of severe debt, hunger, even homelessness.

We, the undersigned, implore you to act immediately and boldly ensure families have the basic necessities – a roof over their head, water to wash their hands, and food in their stomachs.

From an economic, a public policy and a moral point of view, the best path forward is to support our families while we work to get through this unprecedented time together.

Sincerely,

Leaders and Clergy of ACTION

Will you sign?

27 people have signed the petition

Recent responses

  • People need more support for all the usual activities and they have been unable to get them during the pandemic. It is still raging and we still need help for food and shelter while staying safe at home.
  • We need new funding right this minute (really a month ago). Without additional relief, it will become increasingly difficult to trust the process. Please put your politics aside long enough to do the work of the people and pass meaningful, prudent, on target relief.
  • Please extend benefits to help families in our community! We are all struggling through this terrible double crisis of covid19 pandemic and ecomomic disaster.
  • People who are unemployed, hungry, facing eviction and suffering from Covid 19 in their families need to be supported with a stimulus package that adequately addresses their financial calamities. The current proposals by the senate (and the executive order signed by Mr. Trump) fall far short in meeting the overwhelming needs of U.S. citizens!