Dear Governor Cooper, President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, Speaker of the House Tim Moore, and all NC Senators and Representatives,
As North Carolinians, our Tuesdays with Tillis group has been gathering outside Senator Thom Tillis’ Raleigh office for the past 163 consecutive Tuesdays to bring attention to the unmet needs of the people of North Carolina. Tomorrow, and for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, we will practice social distancing and meet virtually online each week to continue our witness in this time of peril brought on by a global pandemic that now includes a growing number of cases in our State.
Today, we are calling upon Governor Cooper, President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, Speaker of the House Tim Moore, and all NC Senators and Representatives to meet in an emergency special session to be convened immediately on a virtual basis.
We call upon you to address the following issues which require an immediate and effective response to take care of the people you were elected to serve:
1) Take all necessary action now to ensure that the 2020 elections take place as scheduled, with a paper ballot provided to all registered voters with a pre-addressed postage-paid envelope, as Oregon has done successfully since 2000;
2) Expand Medicaid to all citizens who currently live without benefit of health care coverage. This alone would provide the State with $4 billion in added economic growth;
3) Provide no-cost health insurance for all currently uninsured children living in the State;
4) Extend unemployment insurance to all workers;
5) Provide all workers with paid sick leave;
6) Provide a guaranteed minimum income to all North Carolinians for the duration of the pandemic;
7) Increase the State minimum wage to $15 an hour;
8) Ensure that all children who receive free meals at school will continue to be fed;
9) Honor and extend the mandated 30-day moratorium on evictions, provide safe shelter for the homeless, and create a permanent plan for affordable housing throughout the State; and
10) Establish state-wide provisions for food and other necessities to be delivered to anyone who is in quarantine, including those who have tested positive for COVID-19. Emergency plans for our senior citizens also must be implemented.
All of these demands can be met with funds from the State’s Rainy Day Fund. That day has come.
We look forward to your immediate response.
Sincerely,
Tuesdays with Tillis