Dear Colleague: Looking Ahead to a Strong Push for Our Values, Continued Fight for A Better Deal
Welcome back from the spring recess. I hope your Easter and Passover holidays were spiritually fulfilling and satisfying in every way. With Congress returning this week, it is important to reflect on what we have accomplished so far this year and what challenges lie ahead. As always, I am grateful for your leadership and engagement on the issues that matter so much to the American people.
The first quarter of this year was a huge success for Democrats in our efforts to defend and promote the values and interests of hard-working Americans and their families:
- The Omnibus appropriations bill reflects our values – Because of Democratic efforts, the bill contains dramatic increases in funding for key priorities, like health care, veterans, the opioid crisis, education and child care, among others.
- We defined the GOP Tax Scam – We continued to use our resources to define the Republican tax bill as a scam that raises taxes on 86 million Americans, gives the top 1 percent of the country 83 percent of the benefits and deepens the deficit that threatens Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
With a strong first quarter behind us, we must now step up our efforts to protect Americans from the ongoing assault by the Trump Administration and Republican Congress on hard-working families and to promote A Better Deal. To that end, we must:
- Continue to define the GOP Tax Scam – It is up to us to ensure that average Americans understand the consequences that lie ahead. Thank you to Members who have had tax events leading up to April 15th, and I hope you will all join a tax event on April 15th. We need to continue to hold tax events this month and in the months ahead.
- Oppose the hypocritical and dangerous Balanced Budget Amendment – The Republican tax scam increases the debt by $1.5 to $2 trillion dollars. And yet they are bringing their so-called balanced budget amendment to a vote this week. But their real goal is to end Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security as we know it. We cannot let this happen. In fact, their hypocrisy is so vast, Speaker Ryan voted against the BBA in 2011 because he said it would lead to higher taxes, but he is bringing the BBA to a vote this week.
- Demand that Congress hold the Trump Administration accountablefor a culture of corruption, cronyismand incompetence – EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt must resign, but he is merely the latest example of the staggering ethical blindness emblematic of this Administration that favors special interests and corporations at the expense of America's children and the air they breathe and water they drink. This is in addition to Republican efforts to weaken consumer protections in the Dodd-Frank law.
- Oppose GOP Farm Bill – This week, the GOP is expected to unveil its disastrous Farm Bill. Ranking Member Collin Peterson and 100 percent of the House Agriculture Committee Democrats oppose the unfair SNAP provisions in the GOP proposal and have said they won't support a bill that includes these cruel provisions.
- Oppose GOP Rescission Package – Press reports indicate the Republican leadership is engaged in back-room talks with the White House to repeal the domestic funding priorities that were agreed upon in the bipartisan Omnibus bill just last month.
- Fight for A Better Deal for every American – No matter where they live, all Americans deserve A Better Deal: for Better Jobs, Better Wages and a Better Future, which is an antidote to the corrupt and bankrupt agenda of this Republican Congress and the President.
These are some of the many challenges we face. We are, of course, united around the need to defend our children from the threat of gun violence in the wake of the tragic Parkland shooting. As you may have seen, the Parkland students are asking Members of Congress to hold gun violence prevention events in their districts.
I look forward to seeing you all this week and hearing your views from home as we fight together on behalf of America's working families. Thank you for your leadership and your friendship.
best regards,
