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Protestors with People's Action rally against President Donald Trump's budget and agenda at Lafayette Park outside the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 2017. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
In a major victory for the growing Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and everyone who supports popular solutions like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and tuition-free public college, the House Democratic leadership on Tuesday ditched plans to impose a widely denounced right-wing tax rule that would have made a bold agenda impossible to fund.
"We are pleased to announce that the rules package for the 116th Congress will not include the 3/5 supermajority tax provision promoted by House Republicans in recent years," the CPC wrote on Twitter. "The removal of this harmful provision will help progressives pass college for all, Medicare for All, and other bold proposals that will deliver meaningful relief for working families."
\u201cWe need a Rules Package that allows the House to pass the bold policies needed to create an economy that works for all Americans, not just a wealthy few.\u201d— Progressive Caucus (@Progressive Caucus) 1544554829
Pushed primarily by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and incoming Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the proposed rule would have required a three-fifths supermajority vote to raise individual income taxes on the bottom 80 percent of Americans.
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities."
-- Social Security WorksWhile cloaked in progressive-sounding language, New York Magazine's Eric Levitz argued last month, when it was first floated, that the rule was based on right-wing tropes about taxation and a "betrayal" of the voters who gave the Democrats control of the House.
Echoing this critique, progressive advocacy groups roundly denounced the proposal as a "staggeringly bad," "disastrous," and "absurd" idea that would have effectively given House Republicans veto power over Democratic legislation.
In addition to widespread grassroots opposition, the rule was also publicly condemned by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)--the only two House Democrats who publicly opposed the rule.
Given how harmful the measure would have been to their central policy aims, progressives greeted news that the proposal has been scrapped with applause--and a sigh of relief.
\u201cWinning.\u201d— Justice Democrats (@Justice Democrats) 1544555601
\u201cA big victory for the Progressive Caucus.\u201d— David Dayen (@David Dayen) 1544554923
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities," Social Security Works wrote on Twitter.
Now that the supermajority tax rule has been scrapped from the incoming House majority's rules package, progressives immediately began to set their sights on defeating "pay-go," another deeply regressive proposal pushed by the Democratic leadership that would require all new spending to be offset by budget cuts or tax increases.
"The pay-go thing is an absurd idea," argued Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chair of the CPC, in an interview earlier this year.
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
In a major victory for the growing Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and everyone who supports popular solutions like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and tuition-free public college, the House Democratic leadership on Tuesday ditched plans to impose a widely denounced right-wing tax rule that would have made a bold agenda impossible to fund.
"We are pleased to announce that the rules package for the 116th Congress will not include the 3/5 supermajority tax provision promoted by House Republicans in recent years," the CPC wrote on Twitter. "The removal of this harmful provision will help progressives pass college for all, Medicare for All, and other bold proposals that will deliver meaningful relief for working families."
\u201cWe need a Rules Package that allows the House to pass the bold policies needed to create an economy that works for all Americans, not just a wealthy few.\u201d— Progressive Caucus (@Progressive Caucus) 1544554829
Pushed primarily by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and incoming Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the proposed rule would have required a three-fifths supermajority vote to raise individual income taxes on the bottom 80 percent of Americans.
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities."
-- Social Security WorksWhile cloaked in progressive-sounding language, New York Magazine's Eric Levitz argued last month, when it was first floated, that the rule was based on right-wing tropes about taxation and a "betrayal" of the voters who gave the Democrats control of the House.
Echoing this critique, progressive advocacy groups roundly denounced the proposal as a "staggeringly bad," "disastrous," and "absurd" idea that would have effectively given House Republicans veto power over Democratic legislation.
In addition to widespread grassroots opposition, the rule was also publicly condemned by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)--the only two House Democrats who publicly opposed the rule.
Given how harmful the measure would have been to their central policy aims, progressives greeted news that the proposal has been scrapped with applause--and a sigh of relief.
\u201cWinning.\u201d— Justice Democrats (@Justice Democrats) 1544555601
\u201cA big victory for the Progressive Caucus.\u201d— David Dayen (@David Dayen) 1544554923
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities," Social Security Works wrote on Twitter.
Now that the supermajority tax rule has been scrapped from the incoming House majority's rules package, progressives immediately began to set their sights on defeating "pay-go," another deeply regressive proposal pushed by the Democratic leadership that would require all new spending to be offset by budget cuts or tax increases.
"The pay-go thing is an absurd idea," argued Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chair of the CPC, in an interview earlier this year.
In a major victory for the growing Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and everyone who supports popular solutions like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and tuition-free public college, the House Democratic leadership on Tuesday ditched plans to impose a widely denounced right-wing tax rule that would have made a bold agenda impossible to fund.
"We are pleased to announce that the rules package for the 116th Congress will not include the 3/5 supermajority tax provision promoted by House Republicans in recent years," the CPC wrote on Twitter. "The removal of this harmful provision will help progressives pass college for all, Medicare for All, and other bold proposals that will deliver meaningful relief for working families."
\u201cWe need a Rules Package that allows the House to pass the bold policies needed to create an economy that works for all Americans, not just a wealthy few.\u201d— Progressive Caucus (@Progressive Caucus) 1544554829
Pushed primarily by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and incoming Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the proposed rule would have required a three-fifths supermajority vote to raise individual income taxes on the bottom 80 percent of Americans.
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities."
-- Social Security WorksWhile cloaked in progressive-sounding language, New York Magazine's Eric Levitz argued last month, when it was first floated, that the rule was based on right-wing tropes about taxation and a "betrayal" of the voters who gave the Democrats control of the House.
Echoing this critique, progressive advocacy groups roundly denounced the proposal as a "staggeringly bad," "disastrous," and "absurd" idea that would have effectively given House Republicans veto power over Democratic legislation.
In addition to widespread grassroots opposition, the rule was also publicly condemned by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)--the only two House Democrats who publicly opposed the rule.
Given how harmful the measure would have been to their central policy aims, progressives greeted news that the proposal has been scrapped with applause--and a sigh of relief.
\u201cWinning.\u201d— Justice Democrats (@Justice Democrats) 1544555601
\u201cA big victory for the Progressive Caucus.\u201d— David Dayen (@David Dayen) 1544554923
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities," Social Security Works wrote on Twitter.
Now that the supermajority tax rule has been scrapped from the incoming House majority's rules package, progressives immediately began to set their sights on defeating "pay-go," another deeply regressive proposal pushed by the Democratic leadership that would require all new spending to be offset by budget cuts or tax increases.
"The pay-go thing is an absurd idea," argued Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chair of the CPC, in an interview earlier this year.