WEBVTT 00:00:14.470 --> 00:00:17.270 From New York, this is Democracy Now! 00:00:17.990 --> 00:00:22.350 Many millions of workers are earning starvation wages — 00:00:22.350 --> 00:00:25.140 and I underline that: starvation wages — 00:00:25.140 --> 00:00:26.840 in this country. 00:00:27.620 --> 00:00:29.350 I’d love to hear anybody get up here 00:00:29.350 --> 00:00:33.540 and tell me that they could live on seven-and-a-quarter an hour, 00:00:33.540 --> 00:00:35.300 they can live on eight bucks an hour, 00:00:35.300 --> 00:00:37.710 they can live on nine bucks an hour. You can’t. 00:00:37.710 --> 00:00:40.530 As the Senate votes, begin debate on President 00:00:40.530 --> 00:00:44.500 Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:46.860 Senator Bernie Sanders is pushing an amendment 00:00:46.860 --> 00:00:49.340 to increase the federal minimum wage. 00:00:50.260 --> 00:00:53.840 We’ll talk about the Fight for 15 with the Reverend William 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:56.060 Barber of the Poor People’s Campaign. 00:00:56.650 --> 00:00:58.940 Then, the House has passed H.R. 00:00:58.940 --> 00:01:02.730 1, the most sweeping pro-democracy bill in decades, 00:01:02.730 --> 00:01:06.910 at a time when Republicans are pushing over 250 state laws 00:01:06.910 --> 00:01:10.790 to restrict voter access. We’ll speak to newly elected 00:01:10.790 --> 00:01:12.980 New York Congressmember Mondaire Jones. 00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:16.860 Many people were surprised that I defeated a billionaire 00:01:16.860 --> 00:01:19.159 who tried to purchase this congressional seat. 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.220 But my election should not be the exception to the rule; 00:01:23.220 --> 00:01:28.210 rather, it should be the norm. Once we pass H.R. 1, it will be. 00:01:29.050 --> 00:01:32.240 Plus, as the House passes the George Floyd 00:01:32.240 --> 00:01:33.520 Justice in Policing 00:01:33.520 --> 00:01:36.800 Act, we’ll speak to longtime organizer 00:01:36.800 --> 00:01:39.200 Mariame Kaba, author of the new book 00:01:39.710 --> 00:01:41.530 We Do This ’Til We Free 00:01:41.530 --> 00:01:45.970 Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice. 00:01:45.970 --> 00:01:47.670 All that and more, coming up. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:58.010 Welcome to Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, 00:01:58.010 --> 00:02:00.530 The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman. 00:02:00.530 --> 00:02:05.610 The Senate has begun work on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus 00:02:05.610 --> 00:02:08.040 relief package after Vice President Kamala 00:02:08.040 --> 00:02:11.900 Harris broke a 50-50 tie on a procedural vote 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:14.190 allowing debate to proceed Thursday. 00:02:14.190 --> 00:02:16.830 But that debate quickly ground to a halt 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:19.290 after Wisconsin Republican Senator 00:02:19.290 --> 00:02:22.920 Ron Johnson forced Senate clerks to read 00:02:22.920 --> 00:02:27.260 the entire text of the stimulus bill aloud — 00:02:27.260 --> 00:02:32.540 more than 100,000 words spanning 628 pages. 00:02:32.540 --> 00:02:33.780 Senate clerk: 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:36.620 "... as the 'American Rescue Plan Act of 2021'. 00:02:36.620 --> 00:02:38.890 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 00:02:38.890 --> 00:02:41.560 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 00:02:42.170 --> 00:02:45.390 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. 00:02:45.390 --> 00:02:47.290 TITLE I—COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 00:02:47.290 --> 00:02:49.250 NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY. Subtitle A—Agriculture ..." 00:02:49.250 --> 00:02:52.530 The clerks began reading mid-afternoon on Thursday 00:02:52.530 --> 00:02:58.370 and finished after midnight — 10 hours and 43 minutes later. 00:02:58.880 --> 00:03:01.260 The legislation now heads to a session 00:03:01.260 --> 00:03:03.040 known as a vote-a-rama, 00:03:03.040 --> 00:03:05.480 where any senator will be able to offer an amendment 00:03:05.480 --> 00:03:10.120 that could drag out debate for hours — or even days. 00:03:10.930 --> 00:03:15.090 The United States recorded nearly 1,800 new COVID-19 deaths 00:03:15.090 --> 00:03:17.190 Thursday, pushing the U.S. death toll 00:03:17.190 --> 00:03:21.080 since the start of the pandemic to over 520,000. 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:24.310 For the first time, a seven-day average of vaccinations 00:03:24.310 --> 00:03:26.360 has topped 2 million doses — 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:30.560 though just 8.4% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. 00:03:31.070 --> 00:03:34.200 On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki 00:03:34.200 --> 00:03:38.150 defended President Biden’s remark that Republican governors 00:03:38.150 --> 00:03:40.770 who’ve lifted mask mandates were guilty 00:03:40.770 --> 00:03:42.020 of "Neanderthal thinking." 00:03:42.020 --> 00:03:43.220 Press Secretary Jen Psaki: 00:03:43.220 --> 00:03:45.000 "He believes that if we’re going to get this pandemic 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:47.990 under control, we need to follow public health guidelines. 00:03:47.990 --> 00:03:51.500 He simply was asked — asked the American people to abide 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:53.140 by wearing masks for a hundred days. 00:03:53.140 --> 00:03:54.490 We’re at about day 40. 00:03:54.490 --> 00:03:57.140 Are we at day 40? Around there. Sixty more days." 00:03:57.140 --> 00:04:01.170 On Wednesday, Alabama Republican Governor Kay Ivey 00:04:01.170 --> 00:04:05.110 said she would end a statewide mask mandate on April 9 — 00:04:05.110 --> 00:04:07.190 joining Mississippi and Texas. 00:04:07.190 --> 00:04:11.310 Alabama has one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates 00:04:11.310 --> 00:04:13.010 in the U.S. 00:04:13.690 --> 00:04:15.570 The Wall Street Journal and The New York 00:04:15.570 --> 00:04:18.560 Times are reporting top aides to New York Governor 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:21.170 Andrew Cuomo pressured state health officials 00:04:21.170 --> 00:04:24.700 to alter a July report in order to cover up 00:04:24.700 --> 00:04:28.760 the true number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. 00:04:28.760 --> 00:04:31.450 The report was edited to only count people 00:04:31.450 --> 00:04:34.800 who died inside nursing facilities, 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:37.220 excluding those who got sick there 00:04:37.220 --> 00:04:39.030 and later died in hospitals, 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:43.100 leaving out thousands of fatalities. 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:45.000 The report was released as a response 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.410 to criticism of Cuomo’s order in March 2020 00:04:48.410 --> 00:04:50.760 barring nursing homes from rejecting 00:04:50.760 --> 00:04:52.970 recovering coronavirus patients 00:04:52.970 --> 00:04:55.280 that were discharged from hospitals, 00:04:55.280 --> 00:04:58.060 which some feared would further spread the virus. 00:04:58.060 --> 00:05:00.650 Last spring, Cuomo signed legislation 00:05:00.650 --> 00:05:03.350 shielding nursing home executives from lawsuits 00:05:03.350 --> 00:05:05.770 related to their handling of the pandemic. 00:05:07.130 --> 00:05:08.900 One of three women who have accused 00:05:08.900 --> 00:05:12.480 Cuomo of sexual misconduct gave her first TV interview 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:15.660 Thursday. Former aide Charlotte Bennett told CBS 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:18.310 News anchor Norah O’Donnell that Governor Cuomo 00:05:18.310 --> 00:05:20.670 repeatedly made inappropriate comments to her — 00:05:20.670 --> 00:05:22.910 including questions about whether her experience 00:05:22.910 --> 00:05:25.900 with sexual assault had impacted her sex life. 00:05:25.900 --> 00:05:30.010 Charlotte Bennett: "He asked me if age difference mattered. 00:05:30.670 --> 00:05:39.410 He also explained that he was fine with anyone over 22." 00:05:39.410 --> 00:05:41.180 Norah O’Donnell: "And how old are you?" 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:42.400 Charlotte Bennett: "Twenty-five." 00:05:42.400 --> 00:05:43.610 Norah O’Donnell: 00:05:43.610 --> 00:05:48.060 "What were you thinking as he’s asking you these questions?" 00:05:48.060 --> 00:05:51.109 Charlotte Bennett: "I thought, ’He’s trying to sleep with me. 00:05:52.490 --> 00:05:54.440 The governor’s trying to sleep with me. 00:05:55.110 --> 00:05:58.860 And I’m deeply uncomfortable, 00:06:00.700 --> 00:06:03.549 and I have to get out of this room as soon as possible.’" 00:06:17.910 --> 00:06:19.550 Top Florida Democrats have called 00:06:19.550 --> 00:06:21.240 on the acting U.S. attorney general 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.620 and the FBI to investigate Republican Governor Ron DeSantis 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:26.880 for corruption and wrongdoing after reports 00:06:26.880 --> 00:06:30.540 that most residents over 65 in a wealthy Key Largo community 00:06:30.540 --> 00:06:33.350 had received vaccines by mid-January. 00:06:33.350 --> 00:06:36.520 Seventeen residents donated $5,000 00:06:36.520 --> 00:06:38.590 each to DeSantis’s political committee 00:06:38.590 --> 00:06:40.410 prior to the vaccinations; 00:06:40.410 --> 00:06:42.790 the former Republican governor of Illinois, 00:06:42.790 --> 00:06:45.710 Bruce Rauner, also a resident of the community, 00:06:45.710 --> 00:06:49.100 increased his contribution to $250,000. 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:51.730 This comes amid accusations 00:06:51.730 --> 00:06:54.840 that DeSantis prioritized wealthy communities 00:06:54.840 --> 00:06:56.810 that were connected to political donors 00:06:56.810 --> 00:06:59.460 for vaccination "pop-up" sites. 00:07:00.780 --> 00:07:03.240 In Geneva, Switzerland, members of Doctors Without Borders 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:05.090 held a protest outside the headquarters 00:07:05.090 --> 00:07:07.060 of the World Trade Organization Thursday 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:09.110 demanding a waiver on patent rights 00:07:09.110 --> 00:07:11.980 for COVID-19 drugs and vaccines. 00:07:11.980 --> 00:07:14.340 South Africa and India are leading an effort 00:07:14.340 --> 00:07:16.720 that would temporarily allow for the production 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:19.920 of generic versions of the life-saving products. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:21.700 Stephen Cornish, director-general 00:07:21.700 --> 00:07:23.500 of Doctors Without Borders-Switzerland, 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:25.270 joined Thursday’s protest. 00:07:25.270 --> 00:07:26.820 Stephen Cornish: "If we had the waiver, 00:07:26.820 --> 00:07:28.770 we’d be able, in a number of countries, 00:07:28.770 --> 00:07:30.350 to scale up production right now, 00:07:30.350 --> 00:07:33.060 which would allow for the diagnostics, 00:07:33.060 --> 00:07:34.760 the medicines and the vaccines 00:07:35.300 --> 00:07:36.730 to get where they’re needed most. 00:07:36.730 --> 00:07:40.230 Right now we’re seeing just a trickle of vaccines 00:07:40.230 --> 00:07:42.380 making it to the Global South. 00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:46.200 And this is just not acceptable in today’s world." 00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:49.440 In Arkansas, the man photographed with his feet 00:07:49.440 --> 00:07:52.000 propped on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:55.080 during the January 6 assault on the Capitol shouted 00:07:55.080 --> 00:07:57.350 at a federal judge Thursday that it was "not fair" 00:07:57.350 --> 00:08:00.100 that he was being held in jail ahead of his trial. 00:08:00.100 --> 00:08:02.790 Richard Barnett has pleaded not guilty to felony charges — 00:08:02.790 --> 00:08:05.740 including obstruction of Congress and disorderly conduct 00:08:05.740 --> 00:08:08.840 in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon. 00:08:08.840 --> 00:08:10.840 In Virginia, federal agents have arrested 00:08:10.840 --> 00:08:14.440 former Trump administration official Federico Klein, 00:08:14.440 --> 00:08:16.920 charging him with assaulting a police officer 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:20.630 with a dangerous weapon during the January 6 attack. 00:08:20.630 --> 00:08:24.150 Klein worked on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign 00:08:24.150 --> 00:08:26.170 and served as special assistant in the Bureau 00:08:26.170 --> 00:08:28.960 of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the State Department. 00:08:28.960 --> 00:08:32.250 He’s also a former U.S. marine who was deployed in Iraq. 00:08:32.250 --> 00:08:35.630 This comes as federal agents are probing communications 00:08:35.630 --> 00:08:38.010 between pro-Trump insurrectionists 00:08:38.010 --> 00:08:41.090 and members of Congress or their staffers. 00:08:41.090 --> 00:08:43.410 On Thursday, the U.S. Capitol Police 00:08:43.410 --> 00:08:47.080 requested a 60-day extension of the National Guard’s mission 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:48.880 helping to protect Congress. 00:08:48.880 --> 00:08:51.530 If approved, as many as 2,200 troops 00:08:51.530 --> 00:08:54.930 could remain on Capitol Hill into May. 00:08:55.980 --> 00:08:59.700 The Senate Energy Committee has advanced interior secretary 00:08:59.700 --> 00:09:01.800 nominee Deb Haaland’s confirmation 00:09:01.800 --> 00:09:03.460 to a full Senate vote — 00:09:03.460 --> 00:09:06.790 where Haaland is almost certain to be confirmed. 00:09:06.790 --> 00:09:08.950 Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska 00:09:08.950 --> 00:09:11.050 was the only Republican on the committee 00:09:11.050 --> 00:09:13.260 who supported Haaland’s nomination. 00:09:13.260 --> 00:09:15.650 Murkowski said she struggled with her decision 00:09:15.650 --> 00:09:18.240 as her constituency in oil-rich Alaska 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.230 is concerned about Haaland’s opposition 00:09:20.230 --> 00:09:22.950 to fracking, pipelines and fossil fuel development. 00:09:23.510 --> 00:09:27.130 If confirmed, Deb Haaland would be the first Native American 00:09:27.130 --> 00:09:29.260 to serve in a cabinet post. 00:09:31.520 --> 00:09:33.760 The U.N. is urging Eritrean troops 00:09:33.760 --> 00:09:36.610 to leave Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, 00:09:36.610 --> 00:09:39.430 where there have been reports of many atrocities 00:09:39.430 --> 00:09:41.310 by multiple parties in the ongoing conflict. 00:09:41.310 --> 00:09:42.540 This is U.N. 00:09:42.540 --> 00:09:45.090 Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani. 00:09:45.090 --> 00:09:47.270 Ravina Shamdasani: 00:09:47.270 --> 00:09:50.130 "A preliminary analysis of the information received 00:09:50.130 --> 00:09:53.160 indicates that serious violations of international law, 00:09:53.160 --> 00:09:56.480 possibly amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, 00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:58.950 may have been committed by multiple actors, 00:09:58.950 --> 00:10:02.910 including the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, 00:10:02.910 --> 00:10:05.250 the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, 00:10:05.250 --> 00:10:08.920 Eritrean armed forces and Amhara regional forces 00:10:08.920 --> 00:10:11.990 and affiliated militia. ... Deeply distressing reports 00:10:11.990 --> 00:10:14.080 of sexual and gender-based violence, 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:16.880 extrajudicial killings, widespread destruction 00:10:16.880 --> 00:10:19.360 and looting of public and private property 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:21.520 by all parties continues to be shared." 00:10:22.030 --> 00:10:25.960 The U.N. also warned of potentially catastrophic hunger 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:29.940 and said it is still lacking the necessary access to deliver aid. 00:10:30.850 --> 00:10:33.250 Pope Francis has landed in Iraq 00:10:33.250 --> 00:10:36.020 for a much-anticipated three-day visit, 00:10:36.020 --> 00:10:39.340 where he hopes to rally the shrinking Christian community. 00:10:39.340 --> 00:10:42.150 Francis will meet with other religious leaders later today 00:10:42.150 --> 00:10:45.150 at Baghdad’s Our Lady of Salvation Church, 00:10:45.150 --> 00:10:47.990 where a 2010 massacre by fighters 00:10:47.990 --> 00:10:50.660 affiliated with al-Qaeda killed over 50 people. 00:10:51.750 --> 00:10:54.440 His trip is also expected to include stops 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.780 at historic religious sites and northern Kurdistan, 00:10:57.780 --> 00:11:01.210 where he will hold an outdoor mass for thousands in Erbil. 00:11:05.040 --> 00:11:07.890 In Italy, dozens of humanitarian aid workers 00:11:07.890 --> 00:11:10.850 have been charged with complicity in human smuggling 00:11:10.850 --> 00:11:13.170 after saving thousands of refugees 00:11:13.170 --> 00:11:14.870 from drowning in the Mediterranean 00:11:14.870 --> 00:11:17.240 as they attempted to reach European soil. 00:11:17.760 --> 00:11:21.000 The charges against over 20 humanitarian aid workers, 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:23.250 with groups including Doctors Without Borders 00:11:23.250 --> 00:11:24.810 and Save the Children, 00:11:24.810 --> 00:11:26.930 come after a four-year investigation 00:11:26.930 --> 00:11:29.570 by the Italian government, which in recent years 00:11:29.570 --> 00:11:34.150 has increasingly criminalized both refugees and rescuers. 00:11:34.150 --> 00:11:37.790 The charges carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. 00:11:39.210 --> 00:11:40.880 Back in the U.S., 00:11:40.880 --> 00:11:43.410 the Transportation Department’s inspector general 00:11:43.410 --> 00:11:45.850 has found the department’s former secretary, 00:11:46.380 --> 00:11:50.640 Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 00:11:50.640 --> 00:11:53.970 repeatedly misused her office to help family members, 00:11:53.970 --> 00:11:56.260 including her father and sister, 00:11:56.260 --> 00:11:58.330 who run a global shipping business 00:11:58.330 --> 00:12:00.590 with large operations in China. 00:12:00.590 --> 00:12:02.360 The inspector general’s report 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:05.830 was referred to Trump’s Justice Department last December, 00:12:05.830 --> 00:12:09.170 which declined to open a criminal investigation. 00:12:10.310 --> 00:12:13.080 The Intercept reports Mitch McConnell 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:15.500 has prepared a short list of candidates 00:12:15.500 --> 00:12:18.260 to succeed him as Kentucky senator, 00:12:18.260 --> 00:12:21.910 in the event he does not serve out his full term. 00:12:22.430 --> 00:12:24.950 Normally, Kentucky’s governor — in this case, 00:12:24.950 --> 00:12:28.660 Democrat Andy Beshear — would appoint a replacement, 00:12:28.660 --> 00:12:31.470 but Republicans are pushing legislation 00:12:31.470 --> 00:12:33.670 in the Kentucky General Assembly 00:12:33.670 --> 00:12:36.090 that would strip him of that power. 00:12:36.650 --> 00:12:38.430 At the top of McConnell’s list 00:12:38.430 --> 00:12:41.290 is state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, 00:12:41.290 --> 00:12:43.130 who is facing calls for impeachment 00:12:43.130 --> 00:12:46.940 over his mishandling of Breonna Taylor’s case. 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:50.330 Taylor was the young EMT who was killed by police 00:12:50.330 --> 00:12:53.560 in a no-knock raid of her home last March. 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:56.780 Texas’s power grid operator 00:12:56.780 --> 00:13:01.410 ERCOT overcharged customers by $16 billion 00:13:02.030 --> 00:13:04.850 during last month’s historic winter storm 00:13:04.850 --> 00:13:07.910 that caused power outages across the state, 00:13:07.910 --> 00:13:10.170 according to a watchdog filing. 00:13:10.170 --> 00:13:12.850 The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, 00:13:13.450 --> 00:13:15.660 which sets the price of electricity, 00:13:15.660 --> 00:13:18.080 kept the emergency surge pricing in place 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:20.780 for 33 hours longer than needed. 00:13:20.780 --> 00:13:23.710 In related news, the president and CEO of ERCOT, 00:13:23.710 --> 00:13:25.200 Bill Magness, was fired 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:28.110 Wednesday amid the ongoing fallout. 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:32.940 In Honduras, Vice reports leaked documents have revealed 00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:35.430 the government of President Juan Orlando Hernández 00:13:35.430 --> 00:13:37.600 paid hundreds of thousands of dollars 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:39.620 in bribes to over 70 journalists 00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:42.790 as part of Hernández’s efforts to control the press. 00:13:42.790 --> 00:13:45.600 The accusations are part of the latest corruption case 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:49.200 against Hernández’s government. Hernández is a key U.S. ally. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:52.410 A group of Democratic congressmembers 00:13:52.410 --> 00:13:54.470 have reintroduced the Berta Cáceres 00:13:54.470 --> 00:13:56.450 Human Rights in Honduras Act, 00:13:56.450 --> 00:14:00.260 which would suspend military aid to the Central American country 00:14:00.260 --> 00:14:03.400 until the Honduran government investigates allegations 00:14:03.400 --> 00:14:07.070 of human rights violations by their security forces. 00:14:07.070 --> 00:14:10.050 The bill is named after beloved Lenca Indigenous land 00:14:10.050 --> 00:14:12.200 and water defender Berta Cáceres, 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:15.470 who was assassinated on March 3, 2016, 00:14:15.470 --> 00:14:17.680 a day before her 45th birthday. 00:14:17.680 --> 00:14:21.650 In 2017, The Guardian reported the extrajudicial killing 00:14:21.650 --> 00:14:24.290 had been planned by military intelligence specialists 00:14:24.290 --> 00:14:27.670 linked to Honduras’s U.S.-trained special forces. 00:14:27.670 --> 00:14:30.760 Cáceres would have turned 50 this week. 00:14:30.760 --> 00:14:34.480 In 2019, Democracy Now! spoke to one of her daughters, 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:36.830 Laura Zúñiga Cáceres, in Madrid, Spain. 00:14:36.830 --> 00:14:38.310 Laura Zúñiga Cáceres: 00:14:38.310 --> 00:14:40.470 "Then we see how the United States government 00:14:40.470 --> 00:14:43.350 continues to support governments in Honduras 00:14:43.350 --> 00:14:47.120 which are highly repressive and violators of human rights. 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:49.670 The United States supports these governments, 00:14:49.670 --> 00:14:52.790 particularly in the area of militarization. 00:14:52.790 --> 00:14:55.140 And at the time of my mother’s murder, 00:14:55.140 --> 00:14:57.350 one of the things that caught our attention 00:14:57.350 --> 00:15:00.300 is that it was said that members of the FBI 00:15:00.300 --> 00:15:02.340 were investigating her killing, 00:15:02.340 --> 00:15:04.700 which the U.S. Embassy never clarified, 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:06.710 even though it was not true, 00:15:06.710 --> 00:15:09.470 and the U.S. Embassy allowed the Honduran state 00:15:09.470 --> 00:15:11.190 to create that false narrative." 00:15:11.970 --> 00:15:15.430 See our coverage of Berta Cáceres’s life and death 00:15:15.430 --> 00:15:17.950 and our 2019 interview with her daughter 00:15:17.950 --> 00:15:21.640 Laura Zúñiga Cáceres at the U.N. climate summit in Madrid. 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:27.040 And those are some of the headlines this is Democracy 00:15:27.040 --> 00:15:30.640 Now, Democracynow.org, the War and Peace Report. 00:15:30.640 --> 00:15:32.630 I’m Amy Goodman. 00:15:32.630 --> 00:15:35.090 AMY GOODMAN: The Senate voted Thursday to open debate 00:15:35.090 --> 00:15:36.370 on President Biden’s 00:15:36.370 --> 00:15:39.880 $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. 00:15:39.880 --> 00:15:42.230 The final vote was 51 to 50, 00:15:42.230 --> 00:15:44.130 with Vice President Kamala Harris 00:15:44.130 --> 00:15:47.550 breaking the tie after every Republican 00:15:47.550 --> 00:15:51.100 senator voted against advancing the legislation. 00:15:51.100 --> 00:15:55.040 Democrats are hoping to pass the bill before March 14th, 00:15:55.040 --> 00:15:58.170 when extended unemployment benefits run out. 00:15:58.170 --> 00:16:00.970 The legislation has widespread support from voters. 00:16:00.970 --> 00:16:04.900 One new poll shows 77% of Americans support the bill, 00:16:04.900 --> 00:16:08.230 including nearly 60% of Republicans. 00:16:08.230 --> 00:16:09.960 But Senate Republicans are attempting 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:12.400 to slow the process to a crawl. 00:16:12.930 --> 00:16:17.330 On Thursday, Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson 00:16:17.330 --> 00:16:18.680 forced Senate clerks 00:16:18.680 --> 00:16:22.500 to read the entire text of the stimulus bill aloud — 00:16:22.500 --> 00:16:27.620 more than 100,000 words filling 628 pages. 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:31.850 The House has already approved a $1.9 trillion relief package, 00:16:31.850 --> 00:16:35.580 but the Senate bill has some key differences. 00:16:35.580 --> 00:16:37.720 It reduces the number of people eligible 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:41.310 for direct stimulus checks and does not include a provision 00:16:41.310 --> 00:16:43.630 to raise the federal minimum wage 00:16:43.630 --> 00:16:47.160 to $15 an hour over a number of years. 00:16:47.160 --> 00:16:49.850 The unelected Senate parliamentarian recently 00:16:49.850 --> 00:16:53.000 ruled the wage increase could not be included in a bill 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:54.200 passed through what’s known 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:57.060 as the budget reconciliation process. 00:16:57.060 --> 00:16:59.780 However, the Fight for 15 is not over. 00:16:59.780 --> 00:17:01.870 The Senate will consider today an amendment 00:17:01.870 --> 00:17:03.310 by Senator Bernie Sanders 00:17:03.310 --> 00:17:06.090 to raise the hourly federal minimum wage 00:17:06.090 --> 00:17:12.180 from $7.25 an hour to $15 over the next five years. 00:17:12.180 --> 00:17:14.490 Sanders spoke on the Senate floor Thursday. 00:17:15.330 --> 00:17:17.380 SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: This is legislation 00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:25.490 that will increase wages for 30 million American workers. 00:17:26.410 --> 00:17:28.930 And if you ask me what the great economic crisis 00:17:28.930 --> 00:17:32.220 in our country is today, it’s not just high unemployment. 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:34.920 It’s not just income and wealth inequality. 00:17:35.620 --> 00:17:38.060 It is that half of our people today 00:17:38.750 --> 00:17:44.890 and before the pandemic were living paycheck to paycheck. 00:17:45.430 --> 00:17:46.830 Their wages were so low 00:17:46.830 --> 00:17:51.010 that if they had a problem with their car or their kid got sick, 00:17:51.010 --> 00:17:53.660 suddenly they were in financial crisis. 00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:56.760 And in the richest country in the history of the world, 00:17:56.760 --> 00:18:02.240 half of our people should not be facing economic desperation 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:06.570 when their car breaks down. And the reason for that is, 00:18:06.570 --> 00:18:09.050 significantly, that many millions of workers 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:13.170 are earning starvation wages — and I underline that: 00:18:13.170 --> 00:18:15.480 starvation wages — in this country. 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:18.930 I’d love to hear anybody get up here 00:18:18.930 --> 00:18:23.110 and tell me that they could live on seven-and-a-quarter an hour, 00:18:23.110 --> 00:18:24.860 they can live on eight bucks an hour, 00:18:24.860 --> 00:18:26.590 they can live on nine bucks an hour. 00:18:26.590 --> 00:18:27.810 You can’t. 00:18:27.810 --> 00:18:29.130 AMY GOODMAN: That’s Senator Bernie Sanders. 00:18:29.130 --> 00:18:31.660 To talk about the push to raise the federal minimum wage, 00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:34.540 we’re joined now by the Reverend Dr. William Barber, 00:18:34.540 --> 00:18:36.670 co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, 00:18:36.670 --> 00:18:38.880 president of Repairers of the Breach. 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:41.540 He and Reverend Liz Theoharis just wrote a letter 00:18:41.540 --> 00:18:43.090 to Vice President Kamala Harris, 00:18:43.090 --> 00:18:46.580 published in The Nation, titled "VP Harris, 00:18:46.580 --> 00:18:50.380 Maybe You Were Elected for Such a Time as This." 00:18:50.380 --> 00:18:52.900 Reverend Barber, welcome back to Democracy Now! 00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:54.910 Explain what you are demanding. 00:18:56.900 --> 00:18:58.710 REV. WILLIAM BARBER II: Well, first of all, thank you so much, 00:18:58.710 --> 00:19:01.330 Amy, for having me on this morning. 00:19:01.330 --> 00:19:03.710 And we wrote that letter to Senator [sic] 00:19:03.710 --> 00:19:06.540 Harris and to Chuck Schumer 00:19:06.540 --> 00:19:08.920 and to Democrats and to President Biden. 00:19:09.790 --> 00:19:13.460 I can’t help but think right now about a passage of Scripture, 00:19:14.310 --> 00:19:15.510 Isaiah 10: 00:19:15.510 --> 00:19:19.240 "Woe unto those who legislate evil 00:19:20.260 --> 00:19:22.280 and rob the poor of their rights." 00:19:23.860 --> 00:19:26.810 When I went to West Virginia a few weeks ago 00:19:26.810 --> 00:19:29.010 and met with poor, low-wealth people, 00:19:29.010 --> 00:19:30.880 from the hollows of West Virginia 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:32.580 to the streets of Charleston, 00:19:33.340 --> 00:19:36.250 they were clear — white and Black and Brown: 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:41.480 When passing tax cuts, they said, for the wealthy, 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:45.520 parliamentarians have never had the last word, 00:19:45.520 --> 00:19:48.770 and they shouldn’t have it now. Parliamentarian didn’t rule; 00:19:48.770 --> 00:19:50.760 the parliamentarian merely advises. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:53.590 And they were demanding of Manchin, 00:19:53.590 --> 00:19:56.240 whose actions have just been shameful — 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:58.680 Republicans’ actions have been sinister; 00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:00.610 his have been shameful. 00:20:00.610 --> 00:20:03.580 They were demanding that Democrats have to keep pushing. 00:20:04.350 --> 00:20:06.560 And as Bernie Sanders said, Senator Sanders, 00:20:06.560 --> 00:20:09.110 not one of these senators could live off 00:20:09.110 --> 00:20:11.140 of what people are living off of now. 00:20:11.780 --> 00:20:14.310 Every one of them makes hundreds of thousands of dollars. 00:20:14.310 --> 00:20:17.950 And, Amy, I also — we’re pushing. 00:20:17.950 --> 00:20:19.950 I really want to hear Bernie Sanders 00:20:19.950 --> 00:20:23.470 also say "poverty wages." We’ve got to say "poverty." 00:20:23.470 --> 00:20:27.170 A hundred and forty million people were living in poverty 00:20:27.170 --> 00:20:29.900 even before — poverty or low wages, 00:20:29.900 --> 00:20:34.540 even before this pandemic. We said that Senator Schumer 00:20:34.540 --> 00:20:36.860 should have kept it in the bill — 00:20:36.860 --> 00:20:38.170 it shouldn’t have to be amended — 00:20:38.170 --> 00:20:40.150 should have been kept it in the bill 00:20:40.150 --> 00:20:44.300 and forced Vice President Harris 00:20:44.300 --> 00:20:48.100 to overrule the advice of the parliamentarian. 00:20:48.100 --> 00:20:49.800 And the history is important here. 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:57.160 The parliamentarian issue, parliamentarians advised 00:20:57.160 --> 00:21:02.090 and ruled out of order every attempt to end slavery. 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:08.210 They ruled out of order attempts to change the Constitution, 00:21:08.210 --> 00:21:11.480 to change injustice after the Civil War. 00:21:12.050 --> 00:21:14.550 Nobody should want to be connected to that legacy. 00:21:15.070 --> 00:21:19.280 And if Senator Harris was to say no to the adviser, 00:21:19.280 --> 00:21:21.020 which has been done before — 00:21:21.020 --> 00:21:24.190 Trent Lott fired a parliamentarian, 00:21:24.190 --> 00:21:27.030 Hubert Humphrey did fire them, Rockefeller. 00:21:27.030 --> 00:21:28.940 There’s a history of this. 00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:31.740 And then it would force it back to the floor, 00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:34.830 which would mean that senators would have to have 60 votes 00:21:34.830 --> 00:21:36.930 to override the presiding officer. 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:41.280 Where we are now, if Bernie puts an amendment on the floor, 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:45.040 if the Democrats were to stick together, 00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:48.460 first of all, the amendment could pass. 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:49.800 Then it would put it back 00:21:49.800 --> 00:21:52.810 where the parliamentarian would advise against it. 00:21:52.810 --> 00:21:56.570 Then the vice president could say no to the advice. 00:21:56.570 --> 00:21:58.590 And it then would require 60 votes. 00:21:58.590 --> 00:22:00.290 And they don’t have 60 votes. 00:22:00.990 --> 00:22:03.120 Even Manchin and Sinema, those Democrats, 00:22:03.120 --> 00:22:05.540 they don’t have the intestinal fortitude 00:22:05.540 --> 00:22:08.670 to vote against the bill, which is why they want a pass. 00:22:08.670 --> 00:22:10.560 They don’t want to have to vote 00:22:10.560 --> 00:22:14.120 and let everybody see them vote against $15. 00:22:14.120 --> 00:22:18.910 They know, lastly, that there are 62 million workers 00:22:18.910 --> 00:22:24.110 before this pandemic who were making less than $15 an hour. 00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:27.050 They know that the poor and low-wealth people 00:22:27.050 --> 00:22:29.560 were the first to be forced to go to work, 00:22:29.560 --> 00:22:30.960 the first to get infected, 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:33.110 the first to get sick and the first to die. 00:22:34.600 --> 00:22:39.080 And they know that 55% of poor and low-wealth people voted 00:22:39.080 --> 00:22:40.780 for the Biden-Harris ticket. 00:22:41.390 --> 00:22:47.940 They also know, lastly, that this issue of $15 an hour, 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:51.040 the March on Washington, Amy, agenda 00:22:51.040 --> 00:22:54.270 was $2 an hour and the Civil Rights Act. 00:22:54.270 --> 00:22:58.220 Two dollars an hour in '63 would be $15 an hour today. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:02.200 Seventy percent of the public wants this. 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:06.310 And I think Democrats are really playing with fire here 00:23:06.840 --> 00:23:09.520 if they don't get Manchin and Sinema in check 00:23:11.160 --> 00:23:14.420 or if Schumer pulls this out, and they don’t — 00:23:14.420 --> 00:23:16.350 and the vice president doesn’t overrule, 00:23:16.350 --> 00:23:19.950 because you’re talking about 62 million people. 00:23:19.950 --> 00:23:24.780 You’re talking about 65 million poor and low-wealth voters, 00:23:25.780 --> 00:23:28.090 and you’re talking about in the midst of a pandemic. 00:23:28.090 --> 00:23:31.070 And it’s shameful, lastly, that in the midst of this pandemic, 00:23:31.070 --> 00:23:33.310 there are three things we have not done. 00:23:33.310 --> 00:23:36.970 Number one, we have not guaranteed unemployment 00:23:36.970 --> 00:23:38.170 and sick leave. 00:23:38.170 --> 00:23:41.350 Number two, we’ve not expanded healthcare. 00:23:41.350 --> 00:23:45.320 And number three, we’ve not decided to pay essential workers 00:23:46.010 --> 00:23:48.130 a living wage, essential, what they need, 00:23:48.130 --> 00:23:51.210 in the time in which 8 million more people 00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:52.980 have gone into poverty. 00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:57.990 Only 39% of this country can afford a $1,000 emergency. 00:23:57.990 --> 00:24:01.160 Seven-twenty-five is barely $15,000 a year. 00:24:02.010 --> 00:24:08.930 And tip workers make $2.13 an hour, 16 million tip workers, 00:24:08.930 --> 00:24:13.150 and 60% of them couldn’t even qualify for the unemployment 00:24:13.150 --> 00:24:14.850 offered during this pandemic. 00:24:16.940 --> 00:24:20.240 This is "Woe unto those who legislate evil 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:22.680 and rob the poor of their rights." 00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:25.910 And this robbery needs to stop, and we need to do what is right. 00:24:25.910 --> 00:24:27.500 AMY GOODMAN: I mean, what’s fascinating here 00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:30.430 is you have a group of people, a hundred people — 00:24:31.060 --> 00:24:33.490 and then, of course, there’s Kamala Harris — 00:24:33.490 --> 00:24:37.280 and the majority of them are millionaires saying 00:24:37.280 --> 00:24:39.940 $15 an hour is too much. 00:24:39.940 --> 00:24:42.710 You make a critical point about Manchin and Sinema. 00:24:42.710 --> 00:24:44.460 They have said they would not vote for that 00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:47.130 $15-an-hour increase — which is not right away. 00:24:47.130 --> 00:24:48.490 It would be over a number of years. 00:24:48.490 --> 00:24:51.160 Manchin said maybe he would tolerate $11. 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:53.890 But that you’re saying if push came to shove, 00:24:53.890 --> 00:24:57.400 given its vast popularity among the American public, 00:24:57.400 --> 00:25:00.670 including Republicans, they would not go against this bill. 00:25:01.970 --> 00:25:03.170 REV. WILLIAM BARBER II: Don’t have the guts to do it. 00:25:03.170 --> 00:25:05.980 I don’t believe it. In West Virginia, 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:10.230 50% of the people work for less than a living wage. 00:25:10.230 --> 00:25:13.810 That’s 362,000 people. I’ve been to West Virginia. 00:25:13.810 --> 00:25:15.810 I’ve seen the fervor in the people. 00:25:15.810 --> 00:25:18.680 I’ve never seen the unity between Black people 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:20.670 from the streets of Charleston and white people 00:25:20.670 --> 00:25:22.250 from the hollows of the mountain. 00:25:22.250 --> 00:25:23.890 When we we met with Manchin, 00:25:23.890 --> 00:25:26.690 we had persons from his own county, his hollow. 00:25:26.690 --> 00:25:28.830 One lady said, "I knew your mama. 00:25:28.830 --> 00:25:31.070 I knew Robert Byrd. 00:25:31.070 --> 00:25:33.070 This is not what Robert Byrd was about." 00:25:33.790 --> 00:25:37.180 They have been strong. There are 900,000 poor 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:39.070 and low-wealth people in West Virginia. 00:25:39.070 --> 00:25:41.980 In Arizona, there’s about almost a million people 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:43.860 who make less than a living wage. 00:25:43.860 --> 00:25:46.140 They don’t want to have to vote. 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:47.810 They want a pass. They want to be able to say, 00:25:47.810 --> 00:25:50.870 "Well, the parliamentarian didn’t allow it." 00:25:50.870 --> 00:25:53.160 But the parliamentarian advises. 00:25:53.160 --> 00:25:54.640 The parliamentarian doesn’t rule. 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:56.960 And the reason I’m saying this to — 00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:59.520 we’ve said to Vice President Harris 00:25:59.520 --> 00:26:01.470 is it’s really a love statement. 00:26:01.470 --> 00:26:05.200 You have a chance here to make this our economic Selma. 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:08.280 You have a chance to stand where Rosa Parks stood, 00:26:08.280 --> 00:26:12.430 where Fannie Lou Hamer stood, where Amelia Boynton stood, 00:26:12.430 --> 00:26:15.190 who was beat on the bridge in Selma 00:26:15.190 --> 00:26:19.230 but also was at the — with Poor People’s Campaign in '68, 00:26:19.230 --> 00:26:23.750 she was in Resurrection City. You have a chance to say, 00:26:23.750 --> 00:26:27.660 "Not only am I the first Black woman in the position, 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:29.820 but I'm going to take a position, 00:26:29.820 --> 00:26:32.420 and I’m not going to allow a parliamentarian — 00:26:32.420 --> 00:26:33.730 one person — 00:26:33.730 --> 00:26:36.700 to block 62 million people who are poor and low-wealth. 00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:39.870 I’m not going to allow one person to hurt 00:26:39.870 --> 00:26:42.760 25 million people who are facing hunger right now, 00:26:42.760 --> 00:26:45.560 30 to 40 million people that are facing eviction. 00:26:45.560 --> 00:26:49.610 I’m not going to let one person block 00:26:49.610 --> 00:26:51.840 billions of dollars being pumped into the economy" 00:26:51.840 --> 00:26:54.220 — because, you know, if they did it immediately, 00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:58.680 it would actually pump $330 billion-plus into the economy. 00:26:59.470 --> 00:27:03.860 She could say, "I’m not going to allow the 74 million women 00:27:04.370 --> 00:27:06.070 who are poor and low-wealth in this country 00:27:06.070 --> 00:27:07.590 to continue to be hurt. 00:27:07.590 --> 00:27:10.310 No, I’m going to force you to have to vote on this. 00:27:10.860 --> 00:27:13.550 I may not be able to vote on it, but as the vice president, 00:27:13.550 --> 00:27:15.260 I’m not going to allow a parliamentarian 00:27:15.260 --> 00:27:19.010 to be more powerful than me. I’m going to overrule them." 00:27:19.010 --> 00:27:21.030 AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the legacy 00:27:21.030 --> 00:27:22.440 of the parliamentarian? 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:25.310 You’ve talked about it going back to slavery. 00:27:25.310 --> 00:27:26.560 REV. WILLIAM BARBER II: Yeah. 00:27:26.560 --> 00:27:28.450 I mean, and that’s the other reason nobody 00:27:28.450 --> 00:27:32.380 should want to be lined up with this issue, 00:27:32.380 --> 00:27:35.580 because, Amy, none of this stuff is constitutional. 00:27:36.120 --> 00:27:39.010 Nobody swore to uphold a parliamentarian. 00:27:40.370 --> 00:27:43.070 They swore to uphold the Constitution, 00:27:43.070 --> 00:27:45.450 which declares the first thing you must do, 00:27:45.450 --> 00:27:46.790 if you’re going to heal — 00:27:46.790 --> 00:27:50.110 have domestic tranquility, is you must establish justice. 00:27:50.110 --> 00:27:51.980 And there is no justice 00:27:51.980 --> 00:27:55.960 when we still have people making $7.25 an hour. 00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:59.750 There is no justice when in America today we’ve declared, 00:27:59.750 --> 00:28:02.710 by our outdated poverty measurement, 00:28:02.710 --> 00:28:08.380 that if a person makes $12,761 a year, they are not poor. 00:28:08.380 --> 00:28:09.960 That is absurd. 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:13.850 There is no justification in allowing a parliamentarian — 00:28:13.850 --> 00:28:16.100 and as I’ve said, if you go back in history, 00:28:17.090 --> 00:28:19.920 every time the issue of slavery came up, 00:28:20.450 --> 00:28:24.740 parliamentarians advised against it, said it was not — 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:28.980 it could not be brought to the floor, prior to slavery, 00:28:28.980 --> 00:28:33.070 and there were attempts to do it after the Civil War. 00:28:33.070 --> 00:28:36.110 And then the whole parliamentarian filibuster issue 00:28:36.110 --> 00:28:41.830 was used constantly by white supremacists in the Congress 00:28:41.830 --> 00:28:43.320 during the civil rights movement 00:28:43.320 --> 00:28:44.710 and prior to the civil rights movement. 00:28:44.710 --> 00:28:46.530 This is an ugly history. 00:28:46.530 --> 00:28:49.360 And there is history, though, of it being defied. 00:28:49.360 --> 00:28:53.090 As I said, Hubert Humphrey did. Nelson Rockefeller did it. 00:28:53.650 --> 00:28:55.570 Trent Lott fired the parliamentarian. 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:59.400 There’s no way — and that’s why we were so troubled. 00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:02.410 President Biden should loose the vice president. 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:04.500 There’s no way in the world he — 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:06.500 and I preached the inaugural ceremony. 00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:08.650 I have great respect. 00:29:08.650 --> 00:29:11.320 We are thankful for much else that’s in the bill. 00:29:11.320 --> 00:29:14.120 But there’s no way he should have said two weeks ago, 00:29:14.120 --> 00:29:16.570 "I’m going to abide by the parliamentarian." 00:29:16.570 --> 00:29:18.250 The parliamentarian didn’t elect him. 00:29:18.250 --> 00:29:20.930 The parliamentarian isn’t a constitutional office. 00:29:20.930 --> 00:29:22.750 The parliamentarian, and use of it 00:29:22.750 --> 00:29:24.960 by oppressive forces in this country, 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:27.160 has a deep and ugly history. 00:29:27.160 --> 00:29:29.440 No, overrule that parliamentarian 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:30.780 and make those senators vote. 00:29:30.780 --> 00:29:32.180 Make them vote in front of the people. 00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:34.770 AMY GOODMAN: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, 00:29:34.770 --> 00:29:39.910 "Conservative Dems have fought so the Biden admin sends fewer & 00:29:39.910 --> 00:29:44.070 less generous relief checks than the Trump admin did. 00:29:44.070 --> 00:29:46.920 It’s a move that makes little-to-no political 00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:50.510 or economic sense, and targets an element of relief 00:29:50.510 --> 00:29:54.030 that is most tangibly felt by everyday people. 00:29:55.140 --> 00:29:56.430 An own-goal." 00:29:56.430 --> 00:29:59.540 And, I mean, the stats are staggering. 00:29:59.540 --> 00:30:02.760 You write raising the minimum wage would, quote, 00:30:02.760 --> 00:30:05.860 "lift 40 percent of African-American workers 00:30:05.860 --> 00:30:09.490 and 62 million poor and low-income Americans 00:30:09.490 --> 00:30:11.190 of every race." 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:13.440 REV. WILLIAM BARBER II: Well, first of all, again, 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:15.910 I’m going to challenge even all the Democrats. 00:30:15.910 --> 00:30:18.310 We need to stop using this language about conservative. 00:30:18.310 --> 00:30:20.150 Look, they’re not conservative. 00:30:20.150 --> 00:30:23.710 There’s nothing conservative when you deestablish justice. 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:26.990 To conserve means to hold on to something. 00:30:26.990 --> 00:30:29.050 So they’re not conservative. They’re not liberal. 00:30:29.050 --> 00:30:31.810 They’re not moderates. They’re not centrists. 00:30:31.810 --> 00:30:33.270 What is a centrist? 00:30:33.270 --> 00:30:35.880 You only make sure half the people get justice? 00:30:37.190 --> 00:30:41.180 What we are seeing is a robbing of the rights of the poor. 00:30:41.180 --> 00:30:44.100 What we are seeing is a clear violation, I believe, 00:30:44.100 --> 00:30:46.440 of the fundamental principles of the Constitution. 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:49.280 And that’s what we need to call it. It’s extreme. 00:30:49.280 --> 00:30:54.140 It’s catering to the corporate bloc in this country. 00:30:54.140 --> 00:30:56.420 It’s a refusal to treat people right. 00:30:58.420 --> 00:31:02.850 It is literally stomping on the hopes 00:31:02.850 --> 00:31:05.780 and dreams of the very people, poor and low-wealth people, 00:31:05.780 --> 00:31:09.490 who were the main ones to have kept this economy alive 00:31:09.490 --> 00:31:10.930 in the midst of a pandemic. 00:31:10.930 --> 00:31:14.400 And lastly, there was no parliamentary issue brought up 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:17.340 when we gave $6 trillion to the corporations, 00:31:17.340 --> 00:31:21.000 no issue brought up when 84% of the first COVID bill 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:22.590 went to banks or corporations, 00:31:22.590 --> 00:31:26.940 no issue brought up when we gave $1.2 trillion to corporations 00:31:26.940 --> 00:31:28.990 that didn’t even go through the Congress. 00:31:28.990 --> 00:31:30.360 Mnuchin just did it. 00:31:30.360 --> 00:31:34.220 And how tragic it would be to pass a bill 00:31:34.220 --> 00:31:37.670 that is less than what Republicans did, 00:31:37.670 --> 00:31:39.460 less than what McConnell did. 00:31:39.460 --> 00:31:41.400 And if Democrats are not careful, 00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:43.210 Republicans are going to outflank them. 00:31:43.210 --> 00:31:47.210 Trump and others are so cynical. They would come back — 00:31:47.210 --> 00:31:49.680 I bet you — if we don’t do this, 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:52.900 and then propose a higher minimum wage 00:31:53.420 --> 00:31:55.970 and end up outflanking Democrats, 00:31:55.970 --> 00:31:58.870 because, you know, there’s a kind of populism 00:31:58.870 --> 00:32:00.770 that has a history in this country 00:32:00.770 --> 00:32:06.000 that is economic populism but is also socially regressive. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:10.950 This makes no sense at all. Make these senators vote. 00:32:10.950 --> 00:32:14.150 So, when Bernie Sanders puts this motion on the table, 00:32:14.150 --> 00:32:19.780 Democrats should stick together, goes back to the vice president. 00:32:19.780 --> 00:32:22.380 She should overrule the advice — that’s all it is — 00:32:22.380 --> 00:32:25.940 of the parliamentarian and force it to a 60-vote margin. 00:32:25.940 --> 00:32:29.560 They have to have 60 votes to overrule the vice president. 00:32:29.560 --> 00:32:31.470 And let America see. 00:32:31.470 --> 00:32:33.510 If they’ve got the intestinal fortitude 00:32:33.510 --> 00:32:35.850 to vote against their own people, 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:39.000 let us see that. And then we’ll be clear about 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:41.260 what we need to do in the next election. 00:32:41.260 --> 00:32:43.340 But I don’t believe they have it. 00:32:43.340 --> 00:32:47.750 They just want a pass. They want to not have to vote, 00:32:47.750 --> 00:32:49.530 and they’re afraid to have to vote. 00:32:49.530 --> 00:32:51.530 And if we make them do it in the public, 00:32:51.530 --> 00:32:53.420 I don’t think they’ll vote against the people. 00:32:53.420 --> 00:32:54.700 AMY GOODMAN: Reverend Dr. William Barber, 00:32:54.700 --> 00:32:56.750 I want to thank you for taking this time — 00:32:56.750 --> 00:32:58.170 you’re on the road in North Carolina — 00:32:58.170 --> 00:32:59.370 to be with us, 00:32:59.370 --> 00:33:01.620 co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, 00:33:01.620 --> 00:33:04.500 president of Repairers of the Breach. 00:33:04.500 --> 00:33:07.380 We’ll link to the letter you and Reverend Liz Theoharis 00:33:07.380 --> 00:33:09.470 wrote to Vice President Kamala Harris, 00:33:09.470 --> 00:33:11.960 published in The Nation, again, titled 00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:13.560 "VP Harris, Maybe 00:33:13.560 --> 00:33:17.150 You Were Elected for Such a Time as This." 00:33:17.150 --> 00:33:20.470 Next up, the House has passed H.R. 1, 00:33:20.470 --> 00:33:23.550 the most sweeping pro-democracy bill in decades, 00:33:23.550 --> 00:33:27.960 at a time when Republicans are pushing more than 250 state laws 00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:31.120 to restrict voting access. We’ll speak with New York 00:33:31.120 --> 00:33:33.990 Congressmember Mondaire Jones. Stay with us. 00:34:42.250 --> 00:34:43.500 AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! 00:34:43.500 --> 00:34:45.550 The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman. 00:34:45.550 --> 00:34:47.330 The House of Representatives has approved 00:34:47.330 --> 00:34:50.270 the most sweeping voting rights bill in decades. 00:34:50.270 --> 00:34:51.790 The For the People Act, 00:34:51.790 --> 00:34:54.080 also known as House Resolution 1, 00:34:54.080 --> 00:34:57.160 passed Wednesday by a vote of a 220 to 210, 00:34:57.160 --> 00:34:59.560 with every Republican opposing the bill. 00:34:59.560 --> 00:35:02.600 The legislation is aimed at improving voter registration 00:35:02.600 --> 00:35:03.930 and access to voting, 00:35:03.930 --> 00:35:06.410 ending partisan and racial gerrymandering, 00:35:06.410 --> 00:35:08.950 forcing the disclosure of dark money donors, 00:35:08.950 --> 00:35:11.470 increasing public funding for candidates, 00:35:11.470 --> 00:35:14.850 and imposing strict ethical and reporting standards 00:35:14.850 --> 00:35:18.590 on congressmembers and members of the U.S. Supreme Court. 00:35:19.110 --> 00:35:21.220 The bill now heads to the Senate, 00:35:21.220 --> 00:35:23.870 where it’s expected to be killed by Republicans 00:35:23.870 --> 00:35:28.430 unless all 50 Senate Democrats unite to end the filibuster. 00:35:28.430 --> 00:35:30.430 The House measure comes as voting rights 00:35:30.430 --> 00:35:32.160 are under attack in courthouses 00:35:32.160 --> 00:35:34.600 and statehouses across the country. 00:35:34.600 --> 00:35:38.910 Republican state lawmakers have introduced over 250 bills 00:35:38.910 --> 00:35:41.520 in 43 states to limit voter access. 00:35:41.520 --> 00:35:46.150 Meanwhile, the Supreme Court appears poised to uphold 00:35:46.150 --> 00:35:48.770 controversial voting limits in Arizona 00:35:48.770 --> 00:35:52.090 in a case that would further gut the Voting Rights Act. 00:35:52.090 --> 00:35:54.960 During oral arguments Tuesday, attorney Michael Carvin, 00:35:54.960 --> 00:35:57.490 who represents the Arizona Republican Party, 00:35:57.490 --> 00:35:59.950 admitted increasing voter turnout, quote, 00:35:59.950 --> 00:36:02.250 "puts us at a competitive disadvantage 00:36:02.250 --> 00:36:03.540 relative to Democrats. 00:36:03.540 --> 00:36:06.300 Politics is a zero sum game," he said. 00:36:06.300 --> 00:36:08.750 Carvin’s comment echoes a famous quote 00:36:08.750 --> 00:36:11.050 by the late conservative activist Paul Weyrich, 00:36:11.050 --> 00:36:13.310 co-founder of The Heritage Foundation. 00:36:13.310 --> 00:36:16.240 In 1980, he said, "I don’t want everybody to vote. 00:36:16.240 --> 00:36:18.760 Elections are not won by a majority of people. ... 00:36:18.760 --> 00:36:20.180 [O]ur leverage in the elections 00:36:20.180 --> 00:36:24.800 goes up as the voting populace goes down," Weyrich said. 00:36:24.800 --> 00:36:26.330 We’re joined now by newly elected 00:36:26.330 --> 00:36:29.550 Democratic Congressmember Mondaire Jones of New York. 00:36:29.550 --> 00:36:31.950 It’s great to have you with us, Congressman Jones. 00:36:31.950 --> 00:36:34.200 Can you talk about the significance 00:36:34.200 --> 00:36:36.430 of what you’ve just passed in the House 00:36:36.430 --> 00:36:38.830 and what you want to see happen in the Senate? 00:36:40.380 --> 00:36:41.640 REP. MONDAIRE JONES: I’m so grateful 00:36:41.640 --> 00:36:43.490 to be here with you and your viewers. 00:36:44.600 --> 00:36:47.010 What we passed, in the form of H.R. 1, 00:36:47.010 --> 00:36:49.260 is of foundational importance. 00:36:49.260 --> 00:36:52.760 It is literally required to save our democracy 00:36:52.760 --> 00:36:57.310 from the ongoing, flagrant assault on our democracy 00:36:57.310 --> 00:36:59.380 by the Republican Party. 00:36:59.380 --> 00:37:02.780 The modern-day Republican Party cannot compete 00:37:02.780 --> 00:37:04.860 on the merits of its policy ideas. 00:37:05.820 --> 00:37:09.200 Rather, it is seeking to disenfranchise large swaths 00:37:09.200 --> 00:37:10.540 of the American electorate, 00:37:10.540 --> 00:37:14.180 especially Black and Hispanic people in Southern states. 00:37:14.900 --> 00:37:18.380 And so, we have to take action as the United States Congress. 00:37:18.930 --> 00:37:21.960 It’s why House Democrats passed what you accurately described 00:37:21.960 --> 00:37:24.800 as the most important voting rights bill 00:37:24.800 --> 00:37:28.120 since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 00:37:28.740 --> 00:37:30.860 And it is a very large bill, 00:37:30.860 --> 00:37:33.130 and it contains a lot of great things. 00:37:33.130 --> 00:37:34.820 The stuff that I’ve tended to focus on 00:37:34.820 --> 00:37:37.430 are automatic voter registration to enfranchise 00:37:37.430 --> 00:37:39.580 an additional 50 million people nationally; 00:37:40.100 --> 00:37:42.080 independent redistricting commissions 00:37:42.080 --> 00:37:44.170 as replacements for the practice 00:37:44.170 --> 00:37:47.170 of partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:51.040 that has allowed people like Marjorie Taylor Greene 00:37:51.040 --> 00:37:54.270 to coast to victory in general election contests 00:37:54.270 --> 00:37:56.340 simply because they have prevailed 00:37:56.340 --> 00:37:58.150 in their Republican primaries; 00:37:58.150 --> 00:38:01.170 and, of course, public campaign financing, 00:38:01.170 --> 00:38:03.820 so that people from working-class backgrounds, 00:38:03.820 --> 00:38:05.420 who tend to be more diverse 00:38:05.420 --> 00:38:07.550 and are certainly more representative 00:38:07.550 --> 00:38:09.250 of the median American voter, 00:38:10.040 --> 00:38:12.810 are able to win congressional campaigns. 00:38:13.460 --> 00:38:14.990 And by the way, when that happens, 00:38:14.990 --> 00:38:18.640 you won’t have crazy people, completely detached from reality 00:38:18.640 --> 00:38:20.750 because of their obscene wealth, 00:38:20.750 --> 00:38:23.530 debating the need for $2,000 survival checks 00:38:23.530 --> 00:38:25.810 in the midst of the worst economic crisis 00:38:25.810 --> 00:38:27.510 since the Great Depression. 00:38:29.100 --> 00:38:33.480 AMY GOODMAN: So, you passed it in the House, H.R. 1. 00:38:33.480 --> 00:38:34.910 It goes now to the Senate, 00:38:34.910 --> 00:38:39.140 where it’s expected to die because of the filibuster. 00:38:39.140 --> 00:38:41.820 Can you talk about the use of the filibuster 00:38:41.820 --> 00:38:43.520 and what you want to see happen? 00:38:44.660 --> 00:38:46.190 REP. MONDAIRE JONES: I don’t expect it to die. 00:38:46.190 --> 00:38:47.450 And when I speak to my colleagues, 00:38:47.450 --> 00:38:49.249 they don’t expect it to die, either. 00:38:49.790 --> 00:38:55.260 We are reaching a point where, as the United States Congress, 00:38:55.260 --> 00:38:56.740 in particular in the House, 00:38:56.740 --> 00:38:59.920 continues to pass commonsense legislation 00:38:59.920 --> 00:39:01.800 that has bipartisan support, by the way — 00:39:01.800 --> 00:39:04.590 when you look at stuff like the Equality Act, 00:39:04.590 --> 00:39:07.050 overwhelmingly, Democrats and Republicans 00:39:07.050 --> 00:39:09.880 don’t feel like members of the LGBTQ community 00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:12.240 should be discriminated against in housing, 00:39:12.240 --> 00:39:15.230 in employment, in credit, and so on and so forth. 00:39:15.230 --> 00:39:18.279 You know, we passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. 00:39:19.090 --> 00:39:21.080 That’s going to be sitting at the door 00:39:21.080 --> 00:39:22.800 of the United States Senate, 00:39:22.800 --> 00:39:24.760 and you’ve got all these senators 00:39:24.760 --> 00:39:27.450 and also the president and vice president of the United States, 00:39:27.450 --> 00:39:31.910 who were elected on the backs of Black people and Brown people, 00:39:32.620 --> 00:39:33.900 and you’re not going to do anything? 00:39:33.900 --> 00:39:36.930 So I think it’s going to be untenable, increasingly, 00:39:36.930 --> 00:39:40.030 for people like Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin 00:39:40.030 --> 00:39:44.330 to continue to adhere to outdated norms. 00:39:44.330 --> 00:39:47.880 And by the way, the filibuster is a relic of Jim Crow. 00:39:47.880 --> 00:39:52.420 I wrote yesterday that just as the filibuster was used 00:39:52.420 --> 00:39:55.660 to block major civil rights legislation a generation ago, 00:39:57.430 --> 00:40:00.940 its adherents will now be using it, effectively, 00:40:00.940 --> 00:40:02.870 to block the Equality Act — 00:40:02.870 --> 00:40:05.090 which I would think would be personal to Kyrsten Sinema, 00:40:05.090 --> 00:40:07.300 who’s a history maker in the LGBTQ community 00:40:07.300 --> 00:40:09.140 in her own right — the George Floyd 00:40:09.140 --> 00:40:12.910 Justice in Policing Act and the For the People Act. 00:40:12.910 --> 00:40:15.680 And so, I happen to think that if we keep the pressure on, 00:40:15.680 --> 00:40:17.060 if the House — 00:40:17.060 --> 00:40:19.260 if House Democrats continue to do their job, 00:40:19.840 --> 00:40:22.780 that folks in the United States Senate 00:40:22.780 --> 00:40:26.980 will be forced to do the right thing by the American people, 00:40:27.550 --> 00:40:29.120 to do what they were elected to do. 00:40:29.120 --> 00:40:31.990 Imagine getting to the Senate and not actually legislating. 00:40:31.990 --> 00:40:33.360 I mean, what’s the point of even running? 00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:35.910 AMY GOODMAN: So, are you for ending the filibuster? 00:40:36.990 --> 00:40:38.230 REP. MONDAIRE JONES: I am a leading proponent 00:40:38.230 --> 00:40:42.060 in the United States Congress for repealing the filibuster. 00:40:42.060 --> 00:40:44.010 AMY GOODMAN: I want to ask you about what you just mentioned, 00:40:44.010 --> 00:40:45.830 the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, 00:40:45.830 --> 00:40:48.650 which the House, as you said, also just passed, 00:40:48.650 --> 00:40:50.640 the bill named after, of course, 00:40:50.640 --> 00:40:52.640 the African American man who was killed last year 00:40:52.640 --> 00:40:55.220 by a white Minneapolis police officer 00:40:55.220 --> 00:40:57.970 who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck 00:40:57.970 --> 00:40:59.740 for nearly nine minutes. 00:40:59.740 --> 00:41:02.010 And by the way, he goes on trial, 00:41:02.010 --> 00:41:05.590 Chauvin, officer Chauvin, on Monday. 00:41:05.590 --> 00:41:07.580 The legislation would ban police chokeholds, 00:41:07.580 --> 00:41:09.550 eliminate qualified immunity for officers. 00:41:09.550 --> 00:41:12.070 It also seeks to ban racial and religious profiling, 00:41:12.070 --> 00:41:13.300 certain no-knock raids, 00:41:13.300 --> 00:41:14.880 and would set up a national database 00:41:14.880 --> 00:41:16.580 to track police misconduct. 00:41:18.460 --> 00:41:21.060 Talk about the significance of this. 00:41:23.600 --> 00:41:25.300 REP. MONDAIRE JONES: It is difficult to overstate 00:41:25.930 --> 00:41:29.100 the significance of the Black Lives Matter movement, 00:41:29.870 --> 00:41:34.220 which has led to legislation like the George Floyd 00:41:34.220 --> 00:41:35.460 Justice in Policing Act. 00:41:35.460 --> 00:41:38.720 And by the way, this is not — this is just the beginning. OK? 00:41:39.530 --> 00:41:43.100 This is not going to solve the issue of systemic racism. 00:41:43.100 --> 00:41:45.250 And I’m happy to talk about that, as well. 00:41:45.250 --> 00:41:47.990 But as it concerns this piece of legislation, 00:41:48.680 --> 00:41:53.540 it was the culmination of those protests 00:41:53.540 --> 00:41:56.110 that we saw last summer, that I participated in, 00:41:56.810 --> 00:41:58.650 that in some places are still going on. 00:41:58.650 --> 00:42:00.350 It was described by historians 00:42:00.940 --> 00:42:04.060 as the most significant civil rights movement 00:42:04.060 --> 00:42:06.620 since the last civil rights movement. 00:42:07.490 --> 00:42:09.340 And that is for good reason. 00:42:09.340 --> 00:42:11.870 For a lot of people, it was clarified for them, 00:42:11.870 --> 00:42:15.630 particularly white Americans, that systemic racism, 00:42:15.630 --> 00:42:18.690 that racism in policing, is pervasive. 00:42:19.680 --> 00:42:21.530 And, of course, I have made the argument 00:42:21.530 --> 00:42:25.650 that it is extending to all parts of our society, right? 00:42:25.650 --> 00:42:28.290 It’s the way you condition your ability 00:42:28.290 --> 00:42:29.680 to get necessary medical care 00:42:29.680 --> 00:42:31.310 and how much money you have in your pocket 00:42:31.310 --> 00:42:33.260 after you’ve deprived Black families, 00:42:33.770 --> 00:42:35.060 as a United States government, 00:42:35.060 --> 00:42:37.300 through policy, of generational wealth. 00:42:38.050 --> 00:42:41.400 You know, it’s a largely property tax-based system 00:42:41.400 --> 00:42:43.930 of public education that results in the concentration 00:42:43.930 --> 00:42:46.950 of tens of billions more dollars in white communities 00:42:46.950 --> 00:42:48.790 than in Black and Brown communities. 00:42:49.560 --> 00:42:51.750 But as it concerns this particular bill, 00:42:51.750 --> 00:42:55.170 it has a lot of support. And it is something that, again, 00:42:55.170 --> 00:42:58.090 if you want to speak to the constituencies 00:42:58.090 --> 00:43:01.510 that are getting Democrats elected and you have any desire 00:43:01.510 --> 00:43:06.280 whatsoever to retain the majority in 2022, 00:43:06.840 --> 00:43:08.910 give people a reason to vote for you, 00:43:09.670 --> 00:43:13.620 and also deliver justice for people for whom justice 00:43:13.620 --> 00:43:15.210 has been long delayed. 00:43:15.210 --> 00:43:18.130 AMY GOODMAN: Very quickly, Congressmember Mondaire Jones, 00:43:18.130 --> 00:43:20.420 you recently wrote a piece in the New York Daily News, 00:43:20.420 --> 00:43:23.830 "Biden must cancel student debt without Congress." 00:43:23.830 --> 00:43:25.310 Can you explain this? 00:43:25.310 --> 00:43:27.710 And also talk about your own experience 00:43:27.710 --> 00:43:29.450 being saddled with student debt. 00:43:31.150 --> 00:43:33.380 REP. MONDAIRE JONES: We face a student debt crisis 00:43:33.380 --> 00:43:37.280 nationally to the tune of $1.7 trillion. 00:43:38.570 --> 00:43:40.320 It is unlike anything we have seen. 00:43:41.220 --> 00:43:45.340 And it is something that must be addressed by Congress. 00:43:45.340 --> 00:43:48.140 Wages have been stagnant for decades, 00:43:48.140 --> 00:43:51.360 literally decades, when you adjust for inflation, 00:43:51.890 --> 00:43:56.180 even as the cost of a four-year college degree has soared. 00:43:56.740 --> 00:44:00.430 We saw in the early '90s the average debt for someone 00:44:00.430 --> 00:44:04.730 graduating a four-year institution of about $9,000. 00:44:04.730 --> 00:44:08.280 And, of course, now it's closer to $37,000 and some change, 00:44:09.360 --> 00:44:12.230 as wages have been stagnant during that same period. 00:44:12.230 --> 00:44:14.000 Of course, we’re just now fighting, 00:44:15.200 --> 00:44:17.180 once again, to raise the minimum wage, 00:44:17.180 --> 00:44:21.240 which hasn’t changed from $7.25 since 2009. 00:44:21.240 --> 00:44:23.170 But even before then, wages had been stagnant. 00:44:23.170 --> 00:44:25.030 And so, we have to do this 00:44:25.030 --> 00:44:28.390 to liberate an entire generation of young people 00:44:28.390 --> 00:44:30.600 to meaningfully participate in our economy. 00:44:30.600 --> 00:44:32.680 In my district, in Westchester and Rockland counties, 00:44:32.680 --> 00:44:35.810 thousands of young people, people my age and below, 00:44:35.810 --> 00:44:37.330 are living at home with their parents 00:44:37.330 --> 00:44:39.480 because they can’t afford to be independent 00:44:40.110 --> 00:44:42.400 and own a home or pay rent. 00:44:42.920 --> 00:44:45.170 And that is because of crippling student debt 00:44:45.710 --> 00:44:48.020 meshed with wage stagnation. 00:44:48.020 --> 00:44:49.470 The president of the United States 00:44:49.470 --> 00:44:53.210 can exercise his authority under the Higher Education Act 00:44:53.210 --> 00:44:54.830 and forgive that debt. 00:44:54.830 --> 00:44:57.160 But, unfortunately, as of now, he has declined to do so. 00:44:57.160 --> 00:44:59.670 And so, we have to make sure that we press this issue. 00:44:59.670 --> 00:45:03.840 It is an issue of gender justice and, of course, economic justice 00:45:03.840 --> 00:45:06.640 and racial justice and LGBTQ+ justice. 00:45:07.460 --> 00:45:08.780 AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to, finally, ask you, 00:45:08.780 --> 00:45:10.020 Congressman Jones, 00:45:10.020 --> 00:45:12.050 a follow-up on a conversation we had yesterday 00:45:12.050 --> 00:45:14.600 with Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill 00:45:14.600 --> 00:45:17.560 and a leading Jewish activist, Mitchell Plitnick, 00:45:17.560 --> 00:45:19.000 who wrote a book called Except 00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:22.340 for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics. 00:45:22.340 --> 00:45:25.270 We were talking about vaccines and Israel, 00:45:25.270 --> 00:45:28.140 one of the largest recipients of U.S. aid, 00:45:28.740 --> 00:45:30.790 the fact that the health minister of Israel 00:45:30.790 --> 00:45:32.980 said Israel is about as responsible 00:45:32.980 --> 00:45:36.110 for making sure that Palestinians have vaccines — 00:45:36.110 --> 00:45:37.740 Israel is number one in the world 00:45:37.740 --> 00:45:39.750 in vaccinating its own population — 00:45:39.750 --> 00:45:41.730 as the Palestinian Health 00:45:41.730 --> 00:45:46.160 Ministry is responsible for dolphins in the Mediterranean. 00:45:47.000 --> 00:45:48.700 Can you comment on this? 00:45:50.450 --> 00:45:51.990 REP. MONDAIRE JONES: I’m not familiar with those statements, 00:45:51.990 --> 00:45:53.240 but I will say 00:45:53.240 --> 00:45:55.780 I believe that Palestinians should be vaccinated. 00:45:55.780 --> 00:45:57.520 I mean, there’s just no question about that. 00:45:57.520 --> 00:45:58.880 And I don’t think that anyone can argue 00:45:58.880 --> 00:46:00.110 otherwise in good conscience. 00:46:00.110 --> 00:46:01.420 AMY GOODMAN: And that Israel is responsible 00:46:01.420 --> 00:46:03.990 for what’s happening in the Occupied Territories? 00:46:05.500 --> 00:46:07.560 REP. MONDAIRE JONES: You know, what I have said is that 00:46:07.560 --> 00:46:10.080 we need a two-state solution in that region, 00:46:10.080 --> 00:46:14.340 and also that, under the law, Palestinians and Israelis 00:46:14.340 --> 00:46:17.440 should be treated equally. I’ve been steadfast in that. 00:46:17.440 --> 00:46:19.620 AMY GOODMAN: And are you saying that Israel should make sure 00:46:19.620 --> 00:46:21.780 that Palestinians have the vaccines? 00:46:22.630 --> 00:46:23.870 REP. MONDAIRE JONES: Yes, I am saying that. 00:46:23.870 --> 00:46:25.080 AMY GOODMAN: Mondaire Jones, 00:46:25.080 --> 00:46:26.820 I want to thank you so much for being with us, 00:46:26.820 --> 00:46:29.810 Democratic congressmember for New York’s 17th 00:46:29.810 --> 00:46:31.630 Congressional District. 00:46:31.630 --> 00:46:33.730 Next up, the House passes the George Floyd 00:46:33.730 --> 00:46:35.040 Justice in Policing Act. 00:46:35.040 --> 00:46:38.830 We’ll speak to the longtime organizer Mariame Kaba. 00:46:38.830 --> 00:46:40.630 She’s author of the new New York 00:46:40.630 --> 00:46:44.490 Times best-selling book, We Do This ’Til We Free Us: 00:46:44.490 --> 00:46:47.150 Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice. 00:46:47.150 --> 00:46:48.850 Back in 30 seconds. 00:48:57.560 --> 00:48:59.260 AMY GOODMAN: This 00:51:07.510 --> 00:51:09.210 is 00:51:32.100 --> 00:51:34.970 Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, 00:51:34.970 --> 00:51:37.490 The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman. 00:51:37.490 --> 00:51:40.590 If you’d like to sign up for our daily digest, 00:51:40.590 --> 00:51:42.620 go to democracynow.org. 00:51:43.410 --> 00:51:47.060 This week, the House passed the police reform measure 00:51:47.060 --> 00:51:50.150 known as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, 00:51:50.150 --> 00:51:53.610 sending it to the Senate just as former police officer 00:51:53.610 --> 00:51:58.120 Derek Chauvin is set to go on trial Monday in Minneapolis 00:51:58.120 --> 00:52:02.060 for his role in the police killing of George Floyd. 00:52:02.060 --> 00:52:05.460 But outrage over police killings and harassment 00:52:05.460 --> 00:52:08.320 and the mass incarceration of Black and Brown people 00:52:08.320 --> 00:52:09.520 and immigrants 00:52:09.520 --> 00:52:12.740 has also generated calls to go beyond reform, 00:52:13.530 --> 00:52:16.380 to defund and abolish the police. 00:52:16.380 --> 00:52:18.600 This is the focus of our next guest. 00:52:18.600 --> 00:52:23.300 Mariame Kaba’s new book, titled We Do This ’Til We Free 00:52:23.300 --> 00:52:26.800 Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming 00:52:26.800 --> 00:52:30.470 Justice, has just hit number nine on The New York 00:52:30.470 --> 00:52:32.440 Times best-seller list. 00:52:32.440 --> 00:52:36.280 Kaba collected essays, interviews and other writings 00:52:36.280 --> 00:52:38.470 that she and numerous collaborators 00:52:38.470 --> 00:52:40.550 wrote between 2014 — 00:52:40.550 --> 00:52:42.200 the year of the uprisings over the police 00:52:42.200 --> 00:52:44.970 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson — and today. 00:52:44.970 --> 00:52:47.050 This week, the book made, as I said, 00:52:47.050 --> 00:52:48.620 The New York Times best-seller list. 00:52:48.620 --> 00:52:50.410 It’s been called a pragmatic playbook. 00:52:50.410 --> 00:52:52.610 It also comes with a discussion guide. 00:52:52.610 --> 00:52:55.330 Mariame Kaba is a longtime organizer, abolitionist, 00:52:55.330 --> 00:52:58.040 educator and founder of the grassroots organization 00:52:58.040 --> 00:53:02.110 Project NIA, which works to end the incarceration of children 00:53:02.110 --> 00:53:03.820 and young adults. 00:53:03.820 --> 00:53:05.450 Mariame, welcome back to Democracy 00:53:05.450 --> 00:53:06.980 Now! It’s great to have you with us. 00:53:06.980 --> 00:53:10.650 Congratulations on the book and on hitting The New York 00:53:10.650 --> 00:53:12.800 Times best-seller list out of the gate. 00:53:13.600 --> 00:53:18.850 Clearly, you have hit a chord. We Do This ’Til We Free 00:53:18.850 --> 00:53:21.220 Us. Talk about what you’re calling for. 00:53:22.030 --> 00:53:23.340 MARIAME KABA: Wonderful. 00:53:23.340 --> 00:53:25.810 Thank you so much for having me, Amy, again. 00:53:26.700 --> 00:53:28.720 Yeah. So, I think, really, 00:53:29.650 --> 00:53:32.330 the reason why the book has been resonating 00:53:32.330 --> 00:53:36.690 is because of the uprisings and the struggle in the streets, 00:53:37.540 --> 00:53:40.660 the fact that so many people around the country 00:53:40.660 --> 00:53:44.530 recognize the complete and utter failures 00:53:44.530 --> 00:53:50.050 and limits of so-called reform to actually do what people want, 00:53:50.050 --> 00:53:52.820 which is to have some little modicum of justice. 00:53:53.660 --> 00:53:57.580 So, I think people are impatient with incrementalism 00:53:57.580 --> 00:53:59.870 and are impatient with solutions 00:53:59.870 --> 00:54:03.520 that don’t actually address the root causes of violence. 00:54:03.520 --> 00:54:05.800 And part of that is the fact that, 00:54:06.570 --> 00:54:09.210 you know, policing is inherently violent 00:54:09.210 --> 00:54:14.090 and that the starting point has to be to actually reduce 00:54:14.090 --> 00:54:16.710 people’s contact with the police altogether. 00:54:16.710 --> 00:54:19.150 And I always tell people, 00:54:19.150 --> 00:54:21.580 if you care about the violence of policing, 00:54:21.580 --> 00:54:23.520 then you should want as little policing 00:54:23.520 --> 00:54:25.740 as possible in any form. 00:54:25.740 --> 00:54:29.310 And so, the book speaks, in part, to that, 00:54:29.310 --> 00:54:32.920 with some writings that I’ve made over the years, 00:54:33.430 --> 00:54:37.930 myself and with others, with some talks and speeches. 00:54:37.930 --> 00:54:40.490 It helps people understand what we mean 00:54:40.490 --> 00:54:43.100 when we talk about defunding policing 00:54:43.100 --> 00:54:46.550 and what we mean by abolishing the prison-industrial complex. 00:54:46.550 --> 00:54:48.200 AMY GOODMAN: Why don’t you explain what you mean? 00:54:48.200 --> 00:54:52.330 And also, what’s really important about your work 00:54:52.330 --> 00:54:54.100 is the grassroots nature of it. 00:54:54.100 --> 00:54:56.640 And if you can talk about the grassroots actions 00:54:56.640 --> 00:54:59.020 that are taking place around the country right now — 00:54:59.020 --> 00:55:00.320 MARIAME KABA: Yeah. 00:55:00.320 --> 00:55:04.210 AMY GOODMAN: — along the issue of challenging police brutality? 00:55:04.210 --> 00:55:06.510 MARIAME KABA: Yes. Thank you so much. 00:55:06.510 --> 00:55:09.910 I will say this: I always tell people that when we talk 00:55:09.910 --> 00:55:12.310 about prison-industrial complex abolition, 00:55:12.310 --> 00:55:14.220 we’re talking about a dual project. 00:55:14.220 --> 00:55:16.840 We’re talking about, on the one hand, a project 00:55:16.840 --> 00:55:21.650 that is about dismantling death-making institutions, 00:55:21.650 --> 00:55:24.800 like policing and prisons and surveillance, 00:55:24.800 --> 00:55:27.510 and creating life-affirming ones, 00:55:28.190 --> 00:55:31.100 putting resources and investing in the things we know 00:55:31.100 --> 00:55:35.290 do keep people safe — housing, healthcare, schooling, 00:55:35.940 --> 00:55:39.010 all kinds of other things, you know, living wages. 00:55:39.010 --> 00:55:41.960 You just talked with Reverend Barber earlier. 00:55:41.960 --> 00:55:43.710 Those types of investments 00:55:43.710 --> 00:55:45.550 are what really actually keep people safe. 00:55:45.550 --> 00:55:49.590 So, that’s what PIC abolition is really about at its core. 00:55:49.590 --> 00:55:51.160 In terms of the people on the ground, 00:55:51.160 --> 00:55:52.360 I do want to point out — 00:55:52.360 --> 00:55:55.840 you had a conversation earlier with Congressman Jones 00:55:55.840 --> 00:56:01.140 about the George Floyd Justice Act. 00:56:01.140 --> 00:56:03.170 And I think if you talk to people 00:56:03.170 --> 00:56:06.320 who have been on the streets all last year, 00:56:06.320 --> 00:56:07.660 basically, half the year, 00:56:07.660 --> 00:56:10.710 and continue to be struggling now in their communities, 00:56:10.710 --> 00:56:13.270 they would tell you that that bill, 00:56:13.270 --> 00:56:16.440 which is really just a set of procedural reforms, 00:56:16.440 --> 00:56:19.430 is woefully, woefully insufficient. 00:56:19.990 --> 00:56:24.140 And I also keep thinking about the cruel irony 00:56:24.140 --> 00:56:28.860 of naming a bill after — a police reform, 00:56:28.860 --> 00:56:32.850 supposedly, bill, after someone who was killed by the police, 00:56:32.850 --> 00:56:36.960 and then to include a whole set of so-called procedural reforms 00:56:36.960 --> 00:56:39.570 that would not have prevented that person’s death. 00:56:39.570 --> 00:56:42.450 So, you know, this particular offering 00:56:42.450 --> 00:56:45.060 that they’re making, supposedly, in Congress 00:56:45.060 --> 00:56:48.800 wouldn’t have kept George Floyd alive. 00:56:48.800 --> 00:56:51.380 And I think that’s just cruel irony. 00:56:52.010 --> 00:56:54.590 And I really recommend that people take a look 00:56:54.590 --> 00:56:59.530 at Derecka Purnell’s yesterday great column 00:56:59.530 --> 00:57:01.820 that she wrote about this very issue. 00:57:01.820 --> 00:57:04.710 So, in terms of the grassroots, organizers, 00:57:04.710 --> 00:57:08.610 since May of 2020, since George Floyd’s killing, 00:57:08.610 --> 00:57:12.080 have actually worked to secure divestment 00:57:12.080 --> 00:57:15.860 of nearly a billion dollars from police departments 00:57:15.860 --> 00:57:19.580 around the country. And they’ve secured investments 00:57:19.580 --> 00:57:23.840 of at least almost $200 million in communities, 00:57:23.840 --> 00:57:25.610 towards the things I mentioned 00:57:25.610 --> 00:57:29.130 are life-affirming and life-giving institutions. 00:57:29.960 --> 00:57:32.810 They have done things like over 25 cities 00:57:32.810 --> 00:57:36.760 canceled contracts with local police departments 00:57:36.760 --> 00:57:38.870 who are operating in schools, 00:57:38.870 --> 00:57:42.290 which also has saved an additional almost $40 million 00:57:43.050 --> 00:57:46.560 to be invested in student, family and community supports 00:57:46.560 --> 00:57:48.170 and restorative justice. 00:57:48.170 --> 00:57:51.480 So, people aren’t sitting back and doing nothing. 00:57:51.480 --> 00:57:53.300 In fact, this past week, 00:57:53.300 --> 00:57:57.630 a new website just launched called DefundPolice.org. 00:57:57.630 --> 00:57:59.240 And I’d like to really point people 00:57:59.240 --> 00:58:00.890 who are interested in the idea 00:58:00.890 --> 00:58:03.950 of defunding the police to go to that website 00:58:03.950 --> 00:58:06.720 and find a map of all the different places 00:58:06.720 --> 00:58:09.630 around the country that are organizing still, 00:58:09.630 --> 00:58:13.040 because the demand is still defund, to abolish. 00:58:13.040 --> 00:58:15.880 So, I think that people really should pay attention to that 00:58:15.880 --> 00:58:17.390 and see that. 00:58:17.390 --> 00:58:19.280 AMY GOODMAN: Well, Mariame Kaba, I want to thank you so much 00:58:19.280 --> 00:58:22.790 for being with us, longtime organizer and abolitionist. 00:58:22.790 --> 00:58:27.100 The new book, We Do This ’Til We Free Us: 00:58:27.100 --> 00:58:29.500 Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice. 00:58:29.500 --> 00:58:32.900 In 10 seconds, why you chose that title, Mariame? 00:58:34.310 --> 00:58:36.670 MARIAME KABA: That’s a chant that has been ringing out 00:58:36.670 --> 00:58:42.820 in the streets ever since 2014 in Ferguson and in New York 00:58:42.820 --> 00:58:44.950 and all around the country. 00:58:44.950 --> 00:58:47.540 I’ve seen and heard, when I was in the streets 00:58:47.540 --> 00:58:49.260 with young people at protests, 00:58:49.260 --> 00:58:51.680 young people in Chicago screaming that chant. 00:58:51.680 --> 00:58:53.060 AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to have to leave it there. 00:58:53.060 --> 00:58:56.400 I thank you so much. That does it for our broadcast. 00:58:56.400 --> 00:58:58.580 Wearing a mask is an act of love. 00:58:58.580 --> 00:59:01.080 Wearing two is even better. Thanks for joining us.