By Mark Gruenberg\People’s World
Photos: People’s World\Instagram
WASHINGTON—As senators opened debate on what unions call Trump’s “big bad money bill” they had to deal with a swarm, not of actual bees, but of women with Mom’s Rising who fanned out through the halls of Congress to demand they kill the legislation when it comes up for a vote as soon as June 27.
They spread out in groups as large as 10 to lobby each of the 100 senators, aiming to detach four or five of the Republicans from the party’s 53-vote majority. They received a boost from the labor movement in the form of backing and participation from the AFT/Teachers and the Service Employees.
The key feature of the measure they sought to kill is the $4.5 trillion 10-year tax cut for corporations and the wealthiest 1%, with tax hikes for everyone else below the top 5%. The tax cut would be partially paid for by cuts in Medicaid of up to $800 billion and $330 billion in food stamps. There would also be a $300 billion cut in Affordable Care Act money—and reduced eligibility for it, too.
“This bill is a piggy bank for the rich,” Teachers/AFT President Randi Weingarten told the crowd.
The cuts sent the Moms Rising members fanning out through congressional corridors bearing coloring books showing the bad impact of the measure upon kids, and upon oldsters, too. They lobbied senators and their staffers to reject the House-passed measure, officially a “reconciliation” bill affecting only taxes and spending.
They were revved up beforehand by Weingarten and moms speaking about how the “big bad bill” would impact moms and their kids, if it becomes law. It will harm millions of children in coming years, speakers warned….READ MORE…
