30 December 20
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Bernie Sanders | I Object
Bernie Sanders, Reader Supported News
Sanders writes: "In the richest country in the history of the world, we cannot allow the working class to get left behind."
ast night, the House of Representatives, with a two-thirds majority of 275 to 134, voted in a bi-partisan way to increase the direct payments going to working families from $600 per adult to $2,000 per adult.
The House did the right thing. I congratulate them. Now it is time for the Senate to step up to the plate and do what the American people overwhelmingly want us to do.
Earlier today, I spoke on the Senate floor urging Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring this bill to a vote. Now I am asking you to join me:
As a result of the pandemic, tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs and their incomes. In the middle of the winter, families now face the threat of eviction and the possibility of being thrown out in the streets.
Hunger in America is at the highest level that it has been for decades with moms and dads struggling to feed their kids, and working families lining up mile after mile to get emergency food packages.
We are even seeing an increase in grocery store shoplifting as desperate Americans try to keep their families from going hungry — all of this taking place in the wealthiest country in the history of the world.
In the last number of years, as people know, Congress has provided massive tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country. That is one of the reasons why we currently have higher income and wealth inequality than any time since the 1920s.
Inequality has grown worse during this pandemic, with many in the billionaire class seeing their wealth increase by hundreds of billions of dollars while Americans struggle to put food on the table.
Congress has also given enormous tax breaks to large corporations so the biggest companies in this country pay zero dollars in federal income taxes.
We have also passed the largest military budget in the history of our country at $740 billion, more than the military budgets of the next ten nations combined.
Meanwhile, half a million Americans are homeless, and half of working families are struggling to survive paycheck to paycheck.
In the middle of a horrific pandemic, over 90 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured and not sure whether they can afford to go to a doctor.
We are coming to the close of one of the most terrible and painful years in American history. That is a tragic fact. More than 330,000 people have died from COVID-19 and record-breaking new cases have left hospitals overwhelmed with new admissions.
The House has done the right thing by an overwhelming vote. Democrats and Republicans in the House voted to increase that $600 direct payment to a $2,000 payment, and 78% of Americans believe that is the right decision.
If Mitch McConnell refuses to bring this legislation to a vote in the Senate, I will delay the Senate vote on the National Defense Authorization Act and keep the Senate in session through the New Year. Working families need help now.
In this historic moment, that is where we are right now. Do we turn our backs on struggling working families, or do we respond to their pain?
Please sign my petition — tell Mitch McConnell to bring $2,000 payments to a vote in the Senate.
In the richest country in the history of the world, we cannot allow the working class to get left behind. Thank you for adding your name to join me in calling on Mitch McConnell to let the Senate vote on this important legislation.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
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