Washington, D.C. – This week, ahead of a potential Senate vote on Republicans’ Billionaire Tax Scam, Families Over Billionaires and Fair Share America hosted tele-town halls in key states to ensure the people all across the country understand the harms of the bill.
More than 21,000 everyday Americans joined town halls in Alaska, Maine, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida to learn more about the bill, share their stories, and make their voices heard. These town halls help ensure Senate Republicans hear directly from their constituents who would be hurt by this cruel legislation.
Highlights from Caller Comments:
Rita from Maine:
“What do they think is going to happen to all that are in the nursing homes in Maine? I mean, that’s crazy. And it will affect me, personally, because I’m on Social Security, low income.”
Judy from Florida:
“I am a registered nurse and am concerned about any cuts to Medicaid. We now know it will result in office and hospital closings, overwhelming doctors, and long wait times to get an appointment.”
Gerald from Alaska:
“I’ve worked for 43 years, and my highest salary was $40,000. I’m not living the life of luxury. I had to give up my car because I couldn’t afford insurance and maintenance […] and I can’t survive with dignity if they cut my very limited benefits. The kids need their school lunches, too.”
Highlights from Speaker Remarks:
Michael Linden, Director of Families Over Billionaires, During the Ohio Tele-Town Hall:
“At its core, the Billionaire Tax Scam is going to make life harder for working people, all to pay for tax breaks that will overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest few Americans. […] If you put it all together, more than half of the benefits go to the top 5%. Now what happens for everybody else? Well, the bottom 40% actually pay more under this plan, not less. That’s roughly 80 million poor and middle class families [that] will end up paying more, not less. And that’s because they want to pay for their handouts to the wealthiest Americans by cutting over a trillion dollars from Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other essential services that Americans rely on like education assistance and energy assistance.”
Kristen Crowell, Executive Director of Fair Share America, During the Ohio Tele-Town Hall:
“This is universally one of the worst pieces of legislation to ever come before the floor of the United States Congress. It’s definitely the most unpopular, it’s egregious, it’s immoral, and it makes zero common sense. What we are asking for from the GOP, who is in leadership right now, […] we are simply saying, we are drawing a line in the sand. Will you support your constituents, those in your local communities that rely on services to get by day to day? Or will you side with the billionaire donors who are rigging the political system for their benefit and for their gain?”
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz During the Florida Tele-Town Hall:
“House Republicans voted two weeks ago to kick 16 million people off their health insurance, and Republican Senators are in the process of likely making it worse. Why would they do this to us? It’s all so Republicans can dole out bigger tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. […] They would drive up health care costs, drive hospitals to the brink of closure, and drive up medical debt for millions. And again, why? All to pay for irresponsible tax giveaways to the rich.”
Aubrey Weaver, Executive Director of the 907 Initiative, During the Alaska Tele-Town Hall:
“This bill is going to be devastating for the country, but it’s especially going to be devastating in Alaska, where these programs are an incredible support system for Alaskans […] For the population specifically on Medicaid, that’s 280,000 Alaskans, 38% of the state’s population. 57% of children are enrolled in Medicaid, 35% of adults.”
“When you think about why all this is happening, these tax cuts for billionaires, Alaska doesn’t have a single billionaire. This money is not coming to our state, it is being taken away from our state. These services are being away from our state for the people who can afford whatever they want and are just looking for more money.”
Garrett Martin, President and CEO of Maine Center for Economic Policy, During the Maine Tele-Town Hall:
“Not only are they talking about cutting Medicaid, which we know is going to affect 43,000 Mainers, straight up […] but the other piece of this puzzle is that, in making those cuts, they’re going to push costs on to states. And they’re going to force Maine to have to have the tough question of how we deal with that. And so, effectively at the end of the day, what this bill is doing is taking from Mainers in order to give tax breaks to billionaires in Silicon Valley and on the Gold Coast of Connecticut.”
Dr. Whitney Christian During the Ohio Tele-Town Hall:
“This bill is going to benefit the billionaires […] but it’s going to harm the working class Americans. It’s going to harm everyday people like you and me. This bill calls for major cuts to funding for programs like Medicaid and SNAP and it totals over 1 trillion dollars in the cuts they want to make to these programs. […] So billionaires, who are thriving, are taking away funding from people just trying to survive.”
Claire Cook-Callen, Executive Director at Progress Missouri, During the Missouri Tele-Town Hall:
“We have 75,000 seniors who get Medicaid help. Over 120,000 Missourians with disabilities count on MO HealthNet to live independently, and then there are large numbers, almost two out of three nursing home beds in our state receive funding from Medicaid. These are ways that are caring for some of our most vulnerable populations in this state and we want to continue to do so because that’s the Missouri that we believe in and stand for. And unfortunately, with this bill, the top 1%, the richest of the rich, are who will see benefits.”
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