Today, our organization announced our endorsement of nine Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives, a group that includes seven previously endorsed incumbents, and, for the first time ever, two candidates facing off against Democratic incumbents in a primary challenge.
The seven champions of our economic justice mission that our group is re-endorsing are Representative Colin Allred (TX-32), Representative Cindy Axne (IA-3), Representative Josh Harder (CA-10), Representative Andy Kim (NJ-3), Representative Katie Porter (CA-45), Representative Deborah Ross (NC-2), and Representative Jennifer Wexton (VA-10).
The two candidates facing sitting Democratic incumbents that our organization is endorsing are Jessica Cisneros in her bid to unseat Representative Henry Cuellar in Texas’s 28th District, and Representative Lucy McBath in her race against Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux in the new post-redistricting Georgia’s 7th District.
We have endorsed candidates in the past two cycles, but this is our first foray into endorsing candidates in primary elections. We decided to take this necessary step in 2022 in response to radical moderate Democrats like Cuellar and Bourdeaux sabotaging President Biden’s agenda, standing as the primary reason why Democrats have been unable to pass signature legislation during his tenure in office. We plan to challenge more of the 15 “Problems” in the Democratic caucus in the coming months.
In other news, Senate Democrats are likely to scrap changes to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap in their version of the Build Back Better Act, a welcome change since raising or repealing the cap would disproportionately benefit high-income taxpayers like us. The IRS also needs more funding (which BBB calls for) to handle taxpayer returns this tax filing season and rein in wealthy tax evaders. Lastly, the Commerce Department announced today that the economy had a strong showing in the last quarter of 2021, which is a positive for all Americans.
Progressive millionaires back primary challenges against centrist House Democrats Cuellar and Bourdeaux by Brian Schwartz
Our first-ever endorsement of primary candidates is making headlines. Representatives Cuellar (TX-28) and Bourdeaux (GA-7) have obstructed President Biden’s agenda, specifically his Build Back Better plan, to such a degree that they no longer deserve to sit in Congress. Whether it be through defending tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry or the stepped-up basis, they have proven themselves time and time again to be beholden to the interests of their wealthy, corporate donors over and above those of their constituents and working Americans.
Bernie Sanders says a big tax break for the wealthy is out of the Biden spending bill, triggering pushback from moderates threatening to derail the entire package by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders took to Twitter to celebrate the fact that changes to the SALT deduction cap are no longer in play in the Senate version of the Build Back Better Act. We join Sanders in his celebration, seeing as raising or repealing the current $10,000 SALT cap would amount to a huge tax break for high-income taxpayers. Predictably, however, some moderate Democrats from high-tax states most affected by SALT – most notably Representatives Gottheimer (NJ-5), Suozzi (NY-3), and Sherill (NJ-11) – have threatened to derail negotiations if the bill doesn’t include changes to SALT. Senate Democrats must hold the line against these moderates and keep any regressive changes to SALT out of the Build Back Better plan.
Warren Demands More IRS Funding as ‘Frustrating’ Tax Season Begins by Laura Davison
15 Democratic Senators sent a letter yesterday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, demanding more funding for the IRS: specifically, a minimum 14% increase in annual funding and an $80 billion investment over a decade. They say that the IRS needs a boost in funding in order to make up for budget cuts, adequately assist Americans filing taxes, and go after wealthy tax evaders. We couldn’t agree more: an important part of our tax justice mission involves doubling down on wealthy Americans and corporations who illegally game the tax system to their advantage.
U.S. Economy Grew 1.7% in 4th Quarter, Capping a Strong Year by Talmon Joseph Smith
The economy is recovering faster than expected from the pandemic. In the last quarter of 2021 alone, GDP grew 1.7%. Over the full year of 2021, GDP grew 5.7% – the highest growth rate since 1984. Additionally, unemployment is at its lowest level since 1969, with 199,000 Americans filing for unemployment at the end of November 2021. These are positive developments thanks in large part to the expansive federal aid that Democrats were able to pass last year. If we want to keep this momentum up, and if we want the benefits of economic growth to be shared more broadly among the populace, then we need Democrats in office like the ones we’ve endorsed today that aren’t afraid to pass bold legislation like the Build Back Better Act.
