Covid-19

WASHINGTON – On Monday, May 18 at 3 PM ET, the chairs of the Congressional Asian Pacific American and Hispanic Caucuses will join civil rights leaders on Facebook Live for a discussion about COVID-19 legislative responses and the pandemic’s disparate impact on immigrants and families of color. The CARES Act excluded these communities by denying them basic health care and economic security — despite their being on the front lines fighting the pandemic. However, the new HEROES Act attempts to rectify those mistakes.

“It’s irresponsible that Chairman Graham convened the committee to continue churning out Trump and McConnell’s extreme judicial nominees while ignoring the devastating shock this pandemic is having on our country. As too many people need more relief, it is shameful that the Senate is spending time on a nominee like Schwartz, who has dedicated his career to defending some of the most extreme voting rights restrictions and anti-LGBTQ measures. His recently revealed offensive college writings make clear that his beliefs extend well beyond his legal arguments.

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the COVID-19 relief package, the “Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act” or the HEROES Act:

WASHINGTON—Urging Congress to make policy choices that address the pandemic’s impact on the justice system, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights will launch a series of radio ads tomorrow to underscore the need to protect the health and safety of people in jails, prisons, and detention centers and those who have been released in the next COVID-19 relief bill. The radio ads will run in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Employment Situation Summary, or jobs report, for April:

WASHINGTON – Citing concerns about the financial insecurity facing the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 105 other civil rights groups called on Congress to support robust funding for the agency in the next coronavirus response package. The hundreds of thousands of people who make up the USPS are essential workers providing a critical public service to the nation amid a global pandemic, all while facing uncertainty about their own personal health and the fiscal health of the constitutionally-mandated agency.

In March, as congressional leaders worked to reach a deal on a COVID-19 relief package, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shut down the Senate so he could attend the swearing-in ceremony for his political protégé, Justin Walker, who was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky last October.

WASHINGTON — Forty pro-democracy and civil rights groups today joined in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, urging them to halt the process of federal judicial nominations and confirmations at this time.  The groups are members of the Fair Courts Task Force of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and wrote to urge "a cessation of the consideration of lifetime judicial nominees at a time when a continued focus on support and resources to address the COVID-19 pandemic should be paramount."