Congress has enacted the Big Brutal Bill and Donald Trump has signed it into law.
This bill is deadly.
According to researchers from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts plus other health care cuts—the largest in history—will result in the deaths of 51,000 people per year. Those deaths include 18,200 people who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, 20,000 people who will lose health care coverage due to the elimination of the premium tax credit for the Affordable Care Act, and 13,000 deaths due to staffing cuts at nursing homes.
At a time when so many are struggling to afford the basic costs of living including groceries, new data from the Urban Institute shows that 5.3 million families will lose $25 or more per month in SNAP benefits, with the average such family losing $146 a month in help paying for food. Sixty-two percent of the families experiencing these very large SNAP losses include children.
All of this is being done in order to pay for extending the Trump tax scam—making tax breaks for the rich permanent—and funding Trump’s mass immigration detention and removal machine.
Congress needs to hear from you. Send a message thanking those who stood up and voted against this monstrosity of a bill, or send a message to your members of Congress who voted for it, admonishing them for their vote.
Register to view a recording of this webinar here. Find slides here.
There is a way to enact legislation in the Senate with only a simple majority (51 votes, not 60): it requires Congress to pass a joint budget resolution with “reconciliation instructions.” This webinar will explain how it works: what is allowed through reconciliation; what isn’t; how often this tactic can be utilized; likely timetables. We’ll discuss this in the context of the COVID Rescue Plan being advanced by the incoming Biden Administration.
Our expert presenters:
Joel Friedman, Vice President, Federal Fiscal Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Tamara Fucile, Senior Advisor for Government Affairs, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Moderator: Debbie Weinstein, Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs
This webinar is best suited to advocates who are working on federal policies/funding related to all aspects of the pandemic.
Want to dive in further? Here are some excellent resources on reconciliation:
“Then, a senator who believes a provision runs afoul of the Byrd rule could raise a point of order, and the presiding officer at that point could decide the point of order is “not well taken,” regardless of the parliamentarian’s advice.
The senator could then appeal the ruling of the chair. But under a special provision of the 1974 law that established the modern budget process, it would require 60 votes to sustain the appeal.”
That is, Vice President Harris could rule that a provision (for example, raising the minimum wage) was allowable, and it would take 60 votes to overrule that decision. By the infrequency of this move, it is clear it would not be done lightly.
We need lots of people to contact Congress in order for the American Rescue Plan to pass. Please help by forwarding this request to your lists for individuals to click and send emails to their senators and representative:
Please tell Congress to enact President Biden’s new COVID rescue plan.
The $1.9 trillion package, according to the New York Times, “includes more than $400 billion to combat the pandemic directly, including money to accelerate vaccine deployment and to safely reopen most schools within 100 days. An additional $350 billion would help state and local governments bridge budget shortfalls, while the plan would also include a dramatic increase in tax credits to help lift children, families, and workers out of poverty, $1,400 direct payments to individuals, more generous unemployment benefits, federally mandated paid leave for workers, food and housing aid, and large subsidies for child care costs.”
The essential legislation also provides critical aid to renters, people threatened with or experiencing homelessness, households unable to pay heat or water bills, and offers an extension of the eviction and foreclosure moratoria. Click on the link below to learn more about the plan and then write to your representative and senators.
If you have any questions please contact Nicolai Haddal: nhaddal@chn.org