Congressman Jim McGovern joined an event hosted by Movement for a People’s Party [MPP] at the East Park Terrace to discuss the next version of federal COVID-19 stimulus.
MPP is a coalition of activist groups which intends to launch a new political party in 2021.
The event in Worcester was part of a nationwide campaign in over 40 locations on Saturday, July 11. The campaign calls for the next federal economic package to be what MPP calls a “people’s stimulus” and addresses six demands made by the group.
McGovern agreed with five of the campaign’s demands on Saturday and highlighted legislation he’s cosponsored to the same ends.
Those issues include Medicare for all and universal basic income. Other issues target the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic: funding for small business payrolls to avoid continued layoffs, suspending mortgage and rent payments and suspending student loan and credit card debt payments.
McGovern gave a nuanced answer on the sixth issue endorsed by the event’s hosts, defund the police.
- Grey Black from Humanity Forward, a non-profit organization started by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang,
- Lori Cairns from the Worcester Anti-Foreclosure Team
- Derrick Kiser, founder of FreshStart508, a wellness center devoted to guiding susceptible young men away from a life of crime.
The event was coordinated by Marianne Baldino and members of We Want Bernie – Worcester, a group that had supported Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for president.
