John,

With all the Republicans opposing the Build Back Better investments, a small handful of conservative Democrats are now blocking the historic agenda―putting essential housing provisions on the chopping block.

Can you take 1-minute to send a letter to your senators and representative and tell them we CAN afford this historic human needs agenda when the rich and corporations finally pay their fair share in taxes? (It only takes a few clicks―we already have a draft ready for you to send.)

"Optimism has given way to anxiety," Friday's New York Times reported. "Low-income housing, and the voucher program in particular, are among those most at risk of being sharply scaled back as the White House seeks to slash the package to accommodate the demands of two centrist Democrats…"¹

Housing is just one of several priorities on the chopping block in the negotiations. But enacting the housing section of the Build Back Better plan would likely have an immediate positive effect on our country’s most vulnerable people. That's because rental assistance addresses a foundational problem: securing an affordable place to live when rents everywhere are outpacing earnings.

We can afford these investments in our people and our communities when the rich and corporations pay their fair share.

The House Ways and Means Committee previously voted to include $2.1 trillion in revenue in the Build Back Better Act, by taxing the rich and corporations. No one making less than $400,000 a year would pay any more in taxes. And now, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden has proposed the Billionaires Income Tax to ensure billionaires pay taxes on all of their income, just like you and I.

Senator Wyden's legislation would only apply to the roughly 700 American billionaires, taxing the annual growth of their wealth. Unofficial estimates predict this tax could raise hundreds of billions of dollars over 10 years.

Join CHN and write to your U.S. senators and representative today and demand they invest in housing assistance to those most in need and to pay for it by ensuring the rich and corporations finally start paying their fair share in taxes.

America’s more than 700 billionaires saw their wealth increase by $2.1 trillion―or 70%―during the first 19 months of the pandemic. Billionaires’ wealth surged from under $3 trillion to $5 trillion over this period. That dramatic boost in wealth, alone, could pay for a lot more than half of the president’s 10-year $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan.²

There are plenty of revenue options available to Congress to unrig our tax code and invest in working families. After all, we don't need more privately owned spaceships, we need a historic investment in our communities.

Thank you for all you do to demand accountability from our political leaders and to fight for the needs of the vulnerable, the sick and the poor.

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs