“Where’s the money going? We’re paying them to be rich,” said Alfredo Reyes, Jr., a U.S. veteran from VOCAL-TX, speaking on the steps of the U.S. Capitol along with members of 24 People’s Action Institute organizations who came to DC to denounce the trillions in tax giveaways and cuts to essential services Republicans want to force through Congress in the 2025 budget.
These People’s Action members came to D.C. from 60 Congressional districts as part of our “Take Back Our Money” tour to talk with lawmakers about the real harm the proposed $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid, food and housing will cause to their families.
“They plan to vote to take away health care from sick people; they plan to vote to take away food from hungry people, and they plan to vote to take education away from children,” said Juanita Lewis, the executive director of Community Voices Heard in New York. “And that ain’t right!”
People’s Action Institute members were joined in speaking out on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, February 25 by lawmakers from the Congressional Progressive Caucus to denounce these deep cuts, as well as massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.
“We’re talking about the most massive transfer of wealth and resources from poor people and the middle class to the billionaires and corporations in the history of this country,” said Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT). “Nobody wants this. Nobody wants their health care to disappear, their hospital to close so that Elon Musk can pocket a little more money. Nobody wants that.”
“Every single person who is going to die because of these cuts is worth saving,” said Elissa Tierney from the New Jersey Resource Project. “We need to start talking to people who don’t look like us and don’t think like us, because we all have something in common. We’re being screwed over by policymakers who pledge their allegiance to billionaires and corporations, and they don’t want us to be organized. They don’t want us to demand the resources we need to survive and thrive.”
Over three days, members of People’s Action affiliate groups held over 100 meetings with their representatives – from the Arkansas Public Policy Panel (ARPP), Center for Health Progress (Colorado), Citizen Action of New York, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, the Colorado People’s Alliance, Communities United for Action (CUFA) in Ohio, Community Voices Heard (New York), Down Home North Carolina, Hoosier Action (Indiana), the Maine People’s Alliance, Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts Education Fund, New Jersey Resource Project, Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, OneAmerica, POWER-LA, PUSH Buffalo, PLAN Nevada, Progressive Maryland, The People’s Lobby (Illinois), VOCAL-KY, VOCAL-TX, and the West Virginia Citizen Action Group.
“Look around – there is still enough money and resources here for all of us,” said Cate Readling of The People’s Lobby. “And yet while billionaires and their cronies line their pockets, our communities are left to pick up the pieces and fight for scraps. They’re stealing our money and handing it over to the ultra rich, all while everyday Americans are forced to choose between their insulin and a carton of eggs.”
The next day, they took their message to the doorsteps of some of the bad corporate actors who stand to profit most from these cuts: Blackstone, Inc., the largest commercial landlord in history, UnitedHealth, the largest private health insurance company in the U.S., and the American Gas Association, a lobbying group for more than 200 fossil fuel companies.
“If you really care about people’s health, why don’t you publicly come out and oppose the cuts to Medicaid?” asked Amelia Bittel from Citizen Action of New York, at the offices of United Healthcare. “You don’t need the $1.3 billion that you stand to profit from these cuts; your company routinely reports the highest profits. Why not give it back to the patients? And hey, Elon – if you’re so sure that it’s all a scam, why don’t you come walk in my shoes for a day.”