AH/Sanders Statement on Debt Ceiling
"Maybe you have to live on K Street for this deal to make sense to you because it doesn't make sense to the rest of us out here in America."
Statement from Arshad Hasan, Executive Director of Democracy for America, on the current state of the debt ceiling negotiations: "The idea of cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid at a time like this in our economy is simply heartless. This deal should be embarrassing for Washington politicians to defend, and if they truly believe this is the way to deal with our problems, they have completely lost touch with what it is like to live outside of the Beltway bubble. Maybe you have to live on K Street for this deal to make sense to you because it doesn't make sense to rest of us out here in America. Senator Sanders said it best when he congratulated the Republicans from the Gang of Six:
'Senators Coburn, Senator Crapo and Chambliss deserve congratulations. Clearly, they have won this debate in a very significant way. My guess is that they will probably get 80 percent or 90 percent of what they wanted. . . . they have stood firm in their desire to represent the wealthy and the powerful and multinational corporations.
. . .
Unfortunately, their victory will be a disaster for working families in this country, for the elderly, for the sick, for the children and for low-income people.'
The truth is that three quarters of voters -- including Independents - support increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Three quarters of voters (also including Independent voters) don't want to see cuts to Social Security or Medicaid. And, 90% of voters don't want to see cuts to Medicare. I bet there are some Independents in that 90%, too. The will of the people is abundantly clear. Why is that so hard for Washington to understand?
The only beacon of hope in this fight is the work that the Democrats in the House are doing led by the Congressional Progressive Caucus to fight these inhumane cuts and fight corporations and the wealthy to make sure they pay their fair share. In order to pass any bill that will retain the full faith and credit of the United States, we need Democratic votes. It's time to bring them to the table and look at the real solutions to restore a strong economy and reduce the deficit."
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