#NNPA BlackPress
CBC Holds Telephone Town Hall to Address Stimulus Packages
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Dr. Ebony Hilton, who works at the University of Virginia Anesthesiology Department in the intensive care unit, operating room, and outpatient surgery with a sub-specialty in critical care, said it’s vital that Americans understand the danger of coronavirus. “Every year, 56,000 people die from the flu in the United States. At this time, given the rate that we are seeing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization estimates that 1.7 million Americans will not see the year 2021. Also, we hear that it’s older people who are affected the most. That’s not true. Approximately 40 percent of all hospitalizations in the United States are younger than 55. Twenty percent are ages 20 to 44. Also, if you live in a crowded city where many Black and Brown people do, you’re particularly at risk.”
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) held an emergency telephone town hall on Friday, March 20, to discuss the coronavirus and its impact on the Black Community.
The discussion also included the coronavirus’ impact on the prison population and the homeless.
“Even though we’re in a crisis, we can’t lose momentum,” Bass stated in kicking off the one-hour discussion.
Led by the efforts of the CBC, Congress has moved two coronavirus stimulus packages that guarantee free testing for all Americans as well as an expansion of paid sick days for many workers.
The legislation includes funding to support sick workers and those caring for children out of school because of the coronavirus response.
It also includes money intended to expand programs for workers who have encountered layoffs, including additional funding for states’ unemployment programs.
The bill directs $2 billion to state unemployment insurance programs and $1 billion to expanding access to programs like SNAP, WIC, and the emergency food assistance program throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Bass told reporters that the House is currently working on a third bill.
“It’s hard to believe, who would have ever imagined,” Bass noted about the pandemic. She called the 2020 Census and the upcoming presidential election “more important now than ever.”
“We’ve called for extra resources,” Bass said. “The 2020 election is a concern as we watched the governor of Ohio cancel the primary despite a court order. In our third package, we’ve requested money for both issues.”
Dr. Ebony Hilton, who works at the University of Virginia Anesthesiology Department in the intensive care unit, operating room, and outpatient surgery with a sub-specialty in critical care, said it’s vital that Americans understand the danger of coronavirus.
“Covid-19 is in the family of coronavirus, and this is a completely new version of the virus,” Dr. Hilton stated. “It’s far-reaching and different than the common cold, SARS, and other illnesses. It’s a completely new version, which makes it contagious and deadly.”
Dr. Hilton continued:
“No one person has ever been exposed to it to provide any type of immunity. Our body hasn’t seen it before. It’s spread like the flu in air droplets. But, the coronavirus is more contagious and more deadly than the flu.
“For every one person infected with the flu, they will infect 1 to 1.3 others. For COVID-19, for every one person infected, they will infect 2 to 2.5 people, making it twice as contagious as the flu.
“Every year, 56,000 people die from the flu in the United States. At this time, given the rate that we are seeing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization estimates that 1.7 million Americans will not see the year 2021.
“Also, we hear that it’s older people who are affected the most. That’s not true. Approximately 40 percent of all hospitalizations in the United States are younger than 55. Twenty percent are ages 20 to 44. Also, if you live in a crowded city where many Black and Brown people do, you’re particularly at risk.”
Another concern raised by Dr. Hilton is the way emergency rooms have tended to treat people.
“The three W’s is what keeps you safe in America: White, Wealthy, and Womb-less – meaning not a woman,” Dr. Hilton stated.
Bass added that one of the stimulus packages passed by the House included $5 billion for states to address the needs of the homeless. The congresswoman pressed media members to ask local officials about those funds to ensure they were correctly used.
“What I’m worried about is how does legislation actually gets to the streets. [Reporters] can tell local officials that the federal government passed a measure that included $5 billion to address the homeless situation, so where is it in my state? Where is it in my city?” said Bass.
“There’s funding also to address the prison population,” she added.
#NNPA BlackPress
Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

By Lauren Burke
By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.
The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.
“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.
“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

#NNPA BlackPress
Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.
“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized. “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”
Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”
A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.
Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”
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