Washington, DC – Today, the Congressional Progressive Caucus in conjunction with progressive groups released a plan to create millions of jobs and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure. In response, Vijay Das, Senior Campaign Strategist at Demos, said:
Today progressive Democrats released a framework for job creation and infrastructure investment that will prepare the United States to thrive in the 21st century.
The Decennial Census is one of the most important statistical tools available to Americans. It provides a snapshot of our present and helps us plan our future. Today this periodic and constitutionally mandated population count faces major threats on two fronts. The first threat is the underfunding of the program by Congressional Republicans and President Trump. The second is the administration’s attacks on vulnerable populations that are often the hardest to count.
Tuesday, May 23 (NEW YORK, NY) – Tamara Draut, Vice President of Research and Policy at Demos, a New York-based public policy organization and think tank, issued this statement following the unveiling of President Trump’s full budget to Congress:
“The deeply alarming budget released by the Trump administration today would wreak havoc on working- and middle-class people, including many of the very people who sent him to the White House, by cutting services and programs that support our most vulnerable communities.
In Chicago today, organizers of the Women’s March are on the move again. Racial justice activists from the Movement for Black Lives and Color of Change are marching beside them. Climate activists, immigration advocates, community organizers and progressives of many stripes are filling the streets of Chicago to demand change, not only in Washington, but in tens of thousands of McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. and across the world.
Today, the Supreme Court declined to review a lower court decision upholding limits on so-called "soft money" in politics. Congress enacted these limits as part of the McCain-Feingold Act in hopes of stopping wealthy donors from funneling huge sums of unregulated or “soft” money to political parties as a way of evading campaign contribution limits.
New York, NY - Following yesterday’s reporting that former FBI Director James Comey recorded a contemporaneous account of President Trump urging him to end the agency’s investigation into Russian interference with the U.S. election and earlier revelations that Trump shared highly sensitive intelligence with Russian officials in the Oval Office, Heather McGhee, President of the New York-based public policy think tank Demos, issued the following statement:
New York, New York — Today, Demos, Every Voice, People for the American Way, and 21 other organizations sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing Judge Amul Thapar’s confirmation to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The organizations called into question Judge Thapar’s troubling record on money in politics, noting that they are deeply concerned with the growing role of big money in American politics.
Despite important advances with ballot initiatives and the rise of the powerful Fight for $15 movement, there is still progress to be made on raising the minimum wage.
The National Retail Federation was expecting a Mother’s Day bonanza on Sunday, predicting consumers would “spend more than ever… as they shower moms with everything from jewelry to special outings at favorite restaurants.” If their projections proved correct, many individual moms got a lot of love last weekend—or at least abundant gifts. Unfortunately, our society as a whole does a great deal less to honor and support mothers.
This Mothers’ Day, as the mother of two stepsons who came from Guatemala and one son born here, I’m grateful that all three of my children and their father have their papers. That was literally the first thing that crossed my mind after Donald Trump was elected.
Washington, DC – President Trump signed an executive order today formatting a “Presidential Commission for Election Integrity.” In response to these reports, Brenda Wright, Vice President for Policy and Legal Strategies at Demos said:
LatinoJustice and Dēmos submitted an amici curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a petition for certiorari challenging Michigan’s controversial Emergency Manager Law, Public Act (PA) 436.
May 10, 2017 (New York, NY) – Following yesterday's announcement that President Trump fired the director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, Heather McGhee, President of the New York-based public policy think tank Demos, issued the following statement:
In a letter sent today to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, twenty-four groups and individuals with expertise in government integrity and accountability expressed deep concern about President Trump’s inappropriate firing of FBI Director James Comey yesterday.
The letter called on Rosenstein “to promptly appoint an independent Special Counsel, as authorized by Justice Department regulations, to now oversee and conduct the Russia investigation that Director Comey was leading for the FBI when he was fired yesterday.”
Legal Action taken due to State’s Failure to Comply with "Motor Voter" Law
SACRAMENTO, CA —Voting rights groups filed a federal lawsuit today against California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for its failure to offer federally mandated voter registration opportunities to millions of Californians.
Since 2006, states across the country have implemented strict voter ID laws, which require photo identification at polling places. Extensive research has suggested that these laws are motivated by racism and partisanship.