ICYMI: DNC People’s Cabinet Press Call On GOP’s Billionaire-First Budget Bill

Today, the DNC hosted a press call featuring DNC Chair Ken Martin, former Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, former Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, former Governor of Washington Jay Inslee, and chef and restaurateur Andrew Zimmern to discuss Donald Trump and House Republicans’ tax scam. Along with Chair Martin, these members of the DNC’s People’s Cabinet called out the disastrous effects that Trump and Republicans’ billionaire-first budget will have on working families across the country.

Find highlights from the call below: 

“The latest CBO analysis revealed that this billionaire-first bill will be a massive redistribution of wealth from the bottom to the top — leaving working families to once again foot the bill from America’s wealthiest,” said DNC Chair Ken Martin. “I know firsthand the importance of Medicaid to families like mine who are struggling or who have struggled in the past, and if Donald Trump has his way, nearly 14 million Americans will lose the coverage that can make the difference between life and death.”

“The budget bill Trump and the GOP are putting forward is a slap in the face to America’s working families,” said former Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. “Now all the things that Trump said he was going to do on Day One like decrease the price of eggs, like cut the cost of living — the only thing he has consistently done since Day One is prioritize the billionaire class. This budget will actively transfer billions of dollars that support working families — giving them a little bit of breathing room — to the ultra wealthy.”

“What’s being proposed in this bill impacts all students in this country; all 50 million students in our K-12 system and 17 million students that are seeking higher education, but it affects some communities more than others,” said former Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. “It costs more to educate students with disabilities. It costs more to educate students who are struggling to read. If we are robbing public education to pay for private vouchers or to destroy public education we are going to further exacerbate a system of haves and have nots.”

“This whole effort to dismantle the tax structure which has allowed such incredible growth in jobs and reasonably priced electricity across America is nuts,” said former Governor of Washington State Jay Inslee. “We are on the cusp of this enormous revolution transforming the American economy and they want to go backwards and be shackled to the coal industry which now is more expensive than the other sources of energy.”

“House Republicans are inching closer to enacting the largest ever cuts to food assistance: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP,” said chef and restaurateur Andrew Zimmern. “By gutting the funding for SNAP by nearly 30 percent and expanding SNAP’s paperwork requirement, Republicans are choosing to take away food assistance from millions and millions of Americans. We’re talking about children, veterans, seniors, hardworking families, and Republicans’ very own constituents who are simply trying to make ends meet and put food on their tables.”