Kristen Crowell, Executive Director of Families Over Billionaires, responds to newly-released text of the Senate’s Reconciliation Package

Washington, D.C. – In response to the Senate’s newly released reconciliation package, Kristen Crowell, Executive Director of Families Over Billionaires, issued the following statement:

“This reconciliation package is a staggering escalation of an agenda that has already unleashed massive harm on the American public and proven to be politically toxic. At a time when families are struggling to afford housing, child care, and other basic necessities, the White House and Republicans in Congress are proposing to pour tens of billions of dollars into an already bloated and unaccountable deportation machine—while also carving out funding for the president’s own luxury projects.

The proposal would direct roughly $70 billion in new funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a massive increase designed to supercharge the president’s deportation force. Even more alarming, this comes on top of the more than $130 billion Congress already handed these agencies last year, with little to no meaningful oversight or guardrails.

Let’s be clear about what that means: lawmakers are doubling down on a system that has already demonstrated a pattern of abuse, lack of transparency, and deadly consequences, while explicitly rejecting basic accountability measures. This is not about public safety. It is about expanding a costly, violent enforcement apparatus at the expense of working families and fundamental rights.

The package reportedly includes $1 billion for the president’s ballroom, a glaring symbol of misplaced priorities and grift. While families are being told there’s no money to lower costs, invest in their futures, or even fund food assistance for those who need it most, lawmakers are willing to spend lavishly on a project that does nothing to improve people’s lives. It underscores a fundamental truth about those in power today: they care only for themselves, not everyday Americans.

Every dollar funneled into this unchecked deportation force or obscene ballroom is a dollar not invested in lowering costs, building affordable housing, strengthening public education, or ensuring families can put food on the table. Congress should be focused on delivering real relief and making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, not writing blank checks for enforcement excess and self-serving projects.

Families Over Billionaires strongly opposes this “let them eat cake” reconciliation package. We urge senators to reject this harmful proposal and instead advance policies that put working families first and build an economy that works for everyone—not just those at the top.”