John,
Want to know what we’re fighting for in the Senate this week? Keep reading to learn more![1]
If Senate Democrats successfully pass a budget resolution—and knock down bad faith amendments designed to protect the wealthy and corporations—we will have cleared the first hurdle to passing the biggest investment in working families since the New Deal.
Below, find the details of what we’re fighting for. With the Senate preparing a critical vote this week, can you rush a contribution today to demand Congress make investments in jobs, working families and the environment―paid for by ensuring the rich and corporations start paying their fair share?
The budget vote this week creates the framework for a package proposed by President Biden and Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders that will make vital investments in our future on:
TAXES
President Biden has called for taxing wealth like work and ensuring anyone making under $400,000 a year won’t pay any more in taxes. The package Democrats have outlined closes loopholes that allow millionaires, billionaires, and corporations to avoid paying their fair share. It will raise the individual tax rate on the wealthiest Americans and make sure wealth generated through investments is taxed at the same level as wages. It’ll raise the corporate tax rate to roll back the huge corporate tax cuts from the 2017 Trump-GOP tax scam. And, the plan will also fund stronger IRS enforcement of wealthy tax cheats.
MEDICARE & HEALTHCARE AFFORDABILITY
The package will expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing and vision care and lower prescription drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry. It will also close the Medicaid coverage gap for 2.2 million people in states where GOP legislators have blocked expansion, and extend the recent increase in financial assistance through the Affordable Care Act to help millions of people afford health insurance.[2][3]
HOME & COMMUNITY-BASED CARE
The high cost of assisted living facilities are increasingly out of reach for millions of Americans. The Build Back Better plan will allocate up to $400 billion to aid home- and community-based care programs and the workers who support them―who are predominantly women and people of color. This will allow seniors and people with disabilities to stay in their homes and active in their communities.[4]
CHILD CARE, CHILDHOOD POVERTY AND UNIVERSAL PRE-K
The expanded Child Tax Credit has just kicked in, with millions of families receiving monthly $300 payments per child. The Build Back Better plan will extend the expanded CTC for at least four years, lifting as many as 4 million children out of poverty.[5] It will also ensure no working family pays more than 7% of their income on child care and will fund universal pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old.
HIGHER EDUCATION
The high costs of college put education out of reach for millions of working families. The package we’re fighting for will make community college tuition-free and expand job-training opportunities.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Right now, 1 in 7 renters are not caught up on rent.[6] The Build Back Better plan will help those struggling with housing insecurity and fund needed investments in affordable housing.
PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE
The U.S. is the only industrialized country that does not offer paid leave to those who are sick or who must stay home to care for a loved one. This budget proposal is expected to fund 12 weeks of guaranteed paid family and medical leave.[7]
CLEAN ENERGY
The package will enact a nationwide clean energy standard to shift our energy consumption away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy. It’ll accomplish this through investments in electric vehicles, clean electrical generation, greener buildings and sustainable agriculture. The plan also invests in a Civilian Climate Corps of hundreds of thousands of workers to protect our natural resources and the climate.
We have an opportunity before us to invest in working families, jobs, the environment, affordable health care, education and so much more. We can also unrig our tax code and economy to ensure millionaires, billionaires and corporations are finally paying their fair share.
While Republicans universally reject these investments―and the tax increases on the rich and corporations to pay for them―we still need to secure the 50 votes needed this week, including from conservative Democrats, to begin the process of turning these policies into law.
Donate today to demand the Senate act boldly and with the urgency of the moment!
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Thank you for being a critical part of our movement for change.
Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
[1] "Senate Budget Chairman Sanders and Majority Leader Schumer Introduce Historic Budget Resolution," Senate Budget Committee, Aug. 9, 2021
[2] “The Health 202: Democrats are also aiming for Medicaid expansion in their go-it-alone bill,” The3 Washington Post, July 15, 2021
[3] “Lowering the Age of Medicare Eligibility to 60 Could Reduce the Cost of Health Care and Have a Modest Effect on the Number of People Who Are Uninsured,” KFF, May 21, 2021
[4] “Senate Democrats’ Plan Boosts Spending on Medicare, ACA Subsidies, Long-Term Care,” KHN, July 15, 2021
[5] “Expanding child tax credit could lift 4 million children out of poverty: analysis,” The Hill, June 21, 2021
[6] “Tracking the COVID-19 Recession’s Effects on Food, Housing, and Employment Hardships,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, July 29, 2021
[7] "Stage Set for Senate Paid Leave Debate Over Taxes and Benefits," Bloomberg, May 18, 2021
