John,

In 2020, when working Americans and communities of color gave Democrats control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, they elected them on a mandate. That mandate was to deliver bold, structural policy solutions that would uplift and empower millions of working families. The President’s Build Back Better (BBB) plan was supposed to be the centerpiece of that agenda, in tandem with strengthening voting rights and ending racist voter suppression, guaranteeing reproductive rights, and raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Universal childcare. Paid family leave. Climate justice. Public housing. Permanent Child Tax Credits. Tuition-free college. Lowering drug prices. Medicare expansion. These policies were supposed to be the pillars of a transformative social package to finally bailout working Americans.

I’m really disappointed, John. Only six progressives actually held the line and voted no on the infrastructure bill last week because leadership de-linked it from the BBB - Cori Bush, AOC, Jamaal Bowman, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley. And now that the fossil fuel industry got their infrastructure bill, the corporatist Democrats they bankroll are even less likely to end up voting for BBB.

Some want to dismiss this as the “political reality” in Washington. But the reality I know is that the overwhelming majority of Americans strongly support these policy reforms. Instead of delivering on the people’s agenda, Democrats have been negotiating against their constituents to appease obstructionists and corporatists in their own ranks. It’s unconscionable, and our kids and grandkids are going to pay the price for it.

Let’s get down to brass tax. While $555 billion over ten years for climate action sounds like a big number, it’s peanuts in comparison to what Congress is about to appropriate for the Pentagon for a single year. The military-industrial complex is about to get a nearly $780 billion windfall in 2022 despite recently ending the longest war in US history, while annual climate spending in BBB is at $55.5 billion – or 7% of the annual defense budget. We can’t avoid climate catastrophe by shelling out nearly a trillion dollars annually to the Pentagon – which has a larger carbon footprint than most industrialized nations. Lining the pockets of defense contractors only perpetuates endless wars for profit, while our most vulnerable communities at home keep suffering under austerity and disinvestment.

Build Back Better 10-year budget - $1.75 trillion

Pentagon 10-year budget - $7.8 trillion

Then there’s public housing. We have a shortage of nearly 4 million housing units nationwide, and at least 580,000 unhoused neighbors across the country, including over 64,000 here in LA County. A recent report showed that rent is unaffordable EVERYWHERE in America for someone making minimum wage. That is a disgraceful statistic and one that Congress could fix by fully funding the construction of public housing, reforming racist zoning laws that restrict affordable housing development, and eliminating means-testing. Instead, the “historic” housing investment in BBB equals less than a third of what Congress already spends per year on federal housing programs.

This email only scratches the surface of my disappointment with how Democrats are exercising their power as the majority right now, John. And corporate Democrats like my opponent Brad Sherman are at the heart of the problem – no advocacy, no gumption, no willpower to fight for what is right. The writing was on the walls with last week’s election – when Democrats fail to deliver progressive policy, Republicans win by weaponizing fear and racism. We combat that not by prioritizing corporate profit, but by prioritizing the people in our communities.

If you believe, like I do, that we need representatives who will prioritize our communities, and not just their corporate donors, please donate to our people-powered campaign today!

CONTRIBUTE

- Shervin Aazami
Candidate for Congress, CA-30