Invest in Infrastructure

For too long, America’s infrastructure has been taken for granted. Highways, streets, public buildings, mass transit, ports, airports, inland waterways, water systems, waste facilities, dams, levees and other public and private facilities are vital to our country’s economy and global competitiveness, public health and national security and personal mobility and quality of life. But this infrastructure has been left to age and investments have not kept pace to meet the needs of today or tomorrow. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers’s 2017 Infrastructure Report Card, the overall condition of the nation’s infrastructure is a “D+,” with an investment gap of $2 trillion.¹ Maintaining our nation’s aging infrastructure are 17.2 million essential frontline workers, concentrated in 94 different occupations. Representing about 12 percent of all workers nationally, the infrastructure sector is larger than retail (16 million) or manufacturing (12.6 million) and second only to health care (20.6 million).² A quarter of this workforce is expected to retire or permanently leave their jobs in the next decade. The workforce gap is more urgent in transportation, water and energy.³ Before the coronavirus outbreak, economic analysis showed that by 2025, infrastructure would continue to degrade, resulting in a loss of 2.5 million jobs, $3.9 trillion in GDP, and $7 trillion in lost business sales and costing each American family $3,400 a year in unexpected repairs and lost productivity.⁴ The COVID-19 pandemic has created an economic shock that has resulted in tens of millions of workers unemployed. In order to jumpstart our economy, protect current infrastructure workers and their families, create new jobs and build for our future, the federal government must fund a nationwide infrastructure program that prioritizes high-need, low-income communities by investing in broadband internet, 5G networks, transportation, housing, high-quality water systems and toxic remediation. Far too often, federal investments in infrastructure have short-changed rural areas and communities of color, leaving them disconnected from opportunity. This time, any federal infrastructure package should include stipulations that states partner with community-based organizations serving and located in distressed communities so an equitable recovery is a reality.⁵

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_{End Notes
1.}
https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/americas-grades/
_2.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2019/04/16/aging-and-in-need-of-attention-americas-infrastructure-and-its-17-million-workers/
_3.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2014/07/02/americas-infrastructure-needs-the-next-generation-of-workers/
_4.
https://smallbusiness.house.gov/uploadedfiles/02-27-20_ms._frazier_testimony.pdf
_5.
https://www.policylink.org/sites/default/files/pcsr_community_infrastructure_final.pdf

National Investment Employment Corps

In just under two months, tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs and our nation’s unemployment rate has skyrocketed from record lows of 3.5 percent to nearing 20 percent. Not all businesses and jobs will survive this pandemic. In order to weather this economic crisis, Congress should begin planning for a publicly subsidized jobs program. During the Great Recession of 2009, public jobs programs subsidized hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers in private companies, as well as public and community-based organizations. This program can be paired with state and local officials identifying “service-ready” community, nonprofit and small-business projects in addition to “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects.¹ This pandemic will have long lasting consequences for our nation. In order to not just recover, but thrive, we must think differently and plan for our collective future. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, the permanent establishment of a National Investment Employment Corps (NIEC) would provide universal job coverage for all adult Americans and eliminate involuntary unemployment and provide health insurance for all full-time workers in the program.² Further, we can reverse years of underinvestment by mobilizing and training our workforce to upgrade the skills of American workers to meet the needs for the jobs of the future, including information technology, advanced manufacturing, logistics and certain health fields.³

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_{End Notes
1.}
https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-policymakers-can-plan-now-jobs-recovery-program
_2.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/full-employment/the-federal-job-guarantee-a-policy-to-achieve- permanent-full-employment
_3.
https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/america-can-skill-unemployed-workers-today-tomorrows-jobs

Environmental Equity and Health Empowerment Zones

In February 2018, the EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment released a study indicating that people of color are much more likely to live near polluters and breathe polluted air. Specifically, the study found that people in poverty are exposed to more fine particulate matter than people living above poverty.¹ The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing the deep-rooted system of structural racism in this country as preliminary numbers have revealed that people of color are facing higher risks. People of color are more likely to live in redlined neighborhoods that lack healthy food options, green spaces, recreational facilities, lighting and safety. They are also more likely to live in densely populated areas and are one-quarter of all public transit users. Healthcare facilities, including hospitals and pharmacies, are typically further away. They are more likely to be exposed to pollutants and toxins. And they are more likely to fill low-paying but now considered “essential” jobs, resulting in more face-to-face interactions with the public. Combined with high rates of heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes and hypertension; these conditions and countless others have contributed to a disproportionate health impact on black and brown people due to the novel coronavirus.² As testing and triage centers are established, they need to be located where people of color live so they can receive treatment quicker.

Traditionally, black churches are the focal point of black communities and have the ability to play a prominent role. Congress build upon the concepts of the Health Empowerment Zone Act which requires federal officials to designate a community that experiences disproportionate disparities in health status and health care as a health empowerment zone and give them priority in awarding competitive grants. Black churches can bridge federal, state and local resources with community resources and overcome long-standing trust issues related to healthcare.³

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_{End Notes
1.}
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/the-trump-administration-finds-that-environmental-racism-is-real/554315/
_2.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/04/09/why-are-blacks-dying-at-higher-rates-from-covid-19/
_3.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/04/10/how-to-reduce-the-racial-gap-in-covid-19-deaths/

Transportation Access

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay at home orders, public transit ridership is down between 50 to 90 percent in many places.¹ This is resulting in steep losses for public transit agencies which are on the verge of bankruptcy, forcing states and municipalities to consider emergency interventions -- all the while hoping that Congress will provide more support. The CARES Act included $25 billion for public transit in March, but annual shortfalls could be as much as $38 billion.² Despite operating at only 10 percent capacity, with skeletal schedules with minimal crews, we cannot afford for public transit to collapse when more than one out of three essential workers relies on it to get to work.³ Congress should first provide an additional $15 billion to help these transit agencies cover their operating costs and continue running when we need them most.⁴

Many states use common funding sources to support transit: motor fuel taxes, state transportation funds, general funds and automobile-related fees or taxes. Successful public transportation is often predicated on strong partnerships between states and municipalities, counties and transit agencies. One of the most common and successful approaches to coordinating regional interests is to create regional transportation authorities (RTAs), sometimes called regional transportation districts or regional transportation councils. These public organizations can establish a coordinated effort among municipalities, cities and counties within a single region to create transportation solutions. Often established under statutory authority or via legislative approval, RTAs enhance a region’s ability to work with state DOTs and lawmakers. In many states, RTAs are eligible for funding directly from the state, and some are also supported by localities. In some cases, RTAs are granted taxing authority in order to provide funding to meet the public transportation needs of those who work and live in their district. A similar approach is a local-options sales tax. This taxing authority can be used in conjunction with a number of infrastructure projects but often is associated with transportation.⁵ States must rethink their public transit systems if we are to emerge from this public health crisis stronger and more resilient.

Americans who are lower-income, Black or Latinx, immigrants or under 50 are especially likely to use public transportation on a regular basis.⁶ In light of this and the service cuts, public regional transit systems should work with advocacy and civic organizations to establish an equitable, clear and transparent process to engage stakeholders and the public in the planning process in response to COVID-19 with racial and economic equity and public health outcomes at the center.⁷

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_{End Notes
1.}
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/24/820543004/transportation-industry-warns-coronavirus-has-hurt-its- bottom-line
_2.
https://transitcenter.org/estimated-financial-impact-of-covid-19-on-u-s-transit-agencies-26-38-billion-annually/
_3.
https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-public-transportation-subway-bus-ridership-9f039bd9-459b-45f9-954c-b26380a037dc.html
_4.
https://www.thirdway.org/memo/save-our-states-sos-rescue-plan-7-ways-to-save-our-communities -amid-covid-19
_5.
https://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/transportation/ontrack.pdf
_6.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/07/who-relies-on-public-transit-in-the-u-s/
_7.
https://activetrans.org/blog/advocates-call-for-transit-agencies-to-prioritize-racial-equity-in-covid-19-response

Ensure Housing Stability

The CARES Act included $12 billion in affordable housing and homelessness resources that were an important first step, but more is needed if we are to protect our most vulnerable citizens and increase housing stability. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, homeless individuals infected by COVID-19 are twice as likely to be hospitalized, two to four times as likely to require critical care and two to three times as likely to die than the general population.¹ It is vital that Congress support the recommendations proposed by the National Low Income Housing Coalition which includes:

• $11.5 billion for Emergency Solutions Grants to reduce homelessness;
• A national, uniform moratorium on evictions and foreclosures;
• $100 billion for emergency rental assistance;
• Moratorium on sweeps of homeless encampments as advised by the CDC;
• Emergency funding for public housing and other HUD housing providers;
• Access to legal services and housing counseling to protect tenants from unlawful evictions;
• $45 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund to address the severe shortage of affordable rental homes;
• $70 billion for public housing capital funds to repair and improve housing;
• Expand Housing Choice Vouchers and/or create a targeted renters’ tax credit to help families keep more of their incomes for other essentials like food, medicine, education and transportation;
• Prevent evictions by creating a new emergency assistance fund like the one proposed by Senators Michael Bennet and Rob Portman in the bipartisan “Eviction Crisis Act,” to provide short-term financial assistance and housing stabilization services; and
• Expand and reform the Low Income Housing Tax Credit as outlined in the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act.²

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_{End Notes
1.}
https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-paper_clean-636pm.pdf
_2.
https://nlihc.org/responding-coronavirus

Ensure Housing Stability

The CARES Act included $12 billion in affordable housing and homelessness resources that were an important first step, but more is needed if we are to protect our most vulnerable citizens and increase housing stability. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, homeless individuals infected by COVID-19 are twice as likely to be hospitalized, two to four times as likely to require critical care and two to three times as likely to die than the general population.¹ It is vital that Congress support the recommendations proposed by the National Low Income Housing Coalition which includes:

• $11.5 billion for Emergency Solutions Grants to reduce homelessness;
• A national, uniform moratorium on evictions and foreclosures;
• $100 billion for emergency rental assistance;
• Moratorium on sweeps of homeless encampments as advised by the CDC;
• Emergency funding for public housing and other HUD housing providers;
• Access to legal services and housing counseling to protect tenants from unlawful evictions;
• $45 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund to address the severe shortage of affordable rental homes;
• $70 billion for public housing capital funds to repair and improve housing;
• Expand Housing Choice Vouchers and/or create a targeted renters’ tax credit to help families keep more of their incomes for other essentials like food, medicine, education and transportation;
• Prevent evictions by creating a new emergency assistance fund like the one proposed by Senators Michael Bennet and Rob Portman in the bipartisan “Eviction Crisis Act,” to provide short-term financial assistance and housing stabilization services; and
• Expand and reform the Low Income Housing Tax Credit as outlined in the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act.²

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_{End Notes
1.}
https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-paper_clean-636pm.pdf
_2.
https://nlihc.org/responding-coronavirus

Voting Rights & Reforms

We must ensure fair voting laws are implemented prior to the November 2020 elections. While the CARES Act included $400 million in emergency funding to help states prepare their elections for the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress should do more so our elections can be safely and fairly administered during this public health crisis.

First, vote-by-mail should be available to all voters should they choose that option. Southern policymakers and election officials should allow voting by mail or allow voters to submit absentee ballots without requiring an excuse. Prior to COVID-19, only Florida, Georgia and North Carolina permitted “no-excuse” absentee voting in the South.¹ Efforts to allow no-excuse absentee voting in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Texas have been stymied.² All Southern states should permit “no-excuse” absentee voting for all elections during this pandemic. And while no-excuse absentee and vote by mail are vital, they still require additional safeguards to prevent voter disenfranchisement and ensure that eligible voters may fully participate in the election this November, including: postage must be free or prepaid by the government; ballots postmarked on or before Election Day must count; signature matching laws need to be reformed to protect voters; and community organizations should be permitted to help collect and deliver voted, sealed ballots.

Safeguarding absentee and vote by mail is only one of many necessary steps. States must also ensure that in-person voting remains safe and available to all. For in-person voting, states must implement parameters that ensure voters can participate safely. This includes guaranteeing staffing at polls by turning to staff at state agencies, expanding early voting periods to include weekends, and developing systems that allow voters to sign up to reserve a time to vote during off-peak hours. And most importantly, officials should comply with CDC guidance that polling places be adequately sanitized to prevent transmission of coronavirus and are configured to adhere to social distancing protocols.

Finally, we must make reforms in voter registration. Before every presidential election, millions of Americans update their voter registration information or register to vote for the first time. Thirty-nine states and D.C. have either fully implemented online voter registration or are in the process of doing so. The other states should do so before November. Further, online voter registration systems should be tested and their capacity bolstered to ensure they can handle the surges in web traffic. Most importantly, public education campaigns should begin in earnest to inform voters of all changes to voting rules, all options available to register and vote and to counter misinformation. This should include advertising in non-English languages.³ Voter registration policies should meet the needs of all eligible voters, including allowing same-day registration and extended deadlines. No southern states have same-day voter registration policies, with the exception of North Carolina’s limited same-day voter registration during the early voting period.⁴

Voter registration among people of color in southern states continues to be stifled by a combination of strict voter identification laws, disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions, purges of registered voters, polling location closures and failures to provide required language assistance.

Before COVID-19, our country’s patchwork of state election laws sowed deep confusion about the process. Ideally, Congress should enact baseline rules to ensure that every eligible American can vote safely, securely and accessibly in the midst of the pandemic. State and local election officials should guarantee early voting, establish no-fault absentee voting, expand options for vote-by-mail requests, clarify and strengthen the use of provisional ballots, increase voter education and expand language assistance. Further, states should require automatic voter registration, allow same-day registration throughout the country, and ensure online voter registration.

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_{End Notes
1.}
https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx#do%20not
_2.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/15/brewing-state-battles-over-how-hold-elections-pandemic/
_3.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/estimated-costs-covid-19-election-resiliency-measures
_4.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/preparing-election-under-pandemic-conditions
_5.
https://naacp.org/coronavirus/voter-access-and-participation-during-coronavirus-pandemic/