IFPTE Supports Big First Step Easing Financial Woes of Workers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WASHINGTON, DC – International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) President Paul Shearon released the following statement applauding last night’s unanimous passage in the Senate of HR 748, a bill funding a wide range of federal initiatives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

“IFPTE applauds Congressional leadership for coming together and passing a major down payment on the federal government’s responsibility to protect its people during the COVID-19 crisis. We are particularly happy to see the cash payments going out to millions of workers in desperate need during this crisis, the dramatic expansion of unemployment insurance benefits necessary to help families through the months of economic disruption ahead, and the support for state and local governments and for hospitals as they combat COVID-19 on the front lines. We are also grateful to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer for fighting to put constraints and oversight on the corporate bailout funds. As IFPTE continues to represent our members’ interests through this COVID pandemic, we maintain that taxpayer funded financial support flowing to large corporations should be used exclusively to maintain salary and benefits for their workforce, and not to further enrich the very corporate executives that spend hundreds of millions of dollars toward encouraging lawmakers to weaken the role of government, eschew paying their fair share of taxes, and undermine funding for working families and our most important social programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and many more.” 

“Given that the current medical and economic turmoil will not likely end soon, IFPTE will be advocating for an immediate one-time retroactive 2019 tax cut for middle class households on family incomes below $250,000 to help the working families get through the serious challenges. We will also call on Congress to support monthly, recurring direct cash support for working families.”

The Senate passed HR 748 by a vote of 96-0. The House is expected to quickly follow suit. 

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Read IFPTE President Shearon's Statement on Passage of HR 748 here

Contact: Candace Rhett
(202) 239-4880