250+ Organizations & Think Tanks: "$6 trillion infrastructure package is the floor, not the ceiling"
The American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan are strong starting points as Congress seeks to address decades of inaction on infrastructure, poverty, the ongoing climate crisis, rising inequality, and a care economy that continues to support us as our country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 140 million poor and low-income people in this country, disproportionately people of color, have been hit hardest by the pandemic while billionaires have profited enormously. The recent bipartisan framework announced by the White House is insufficient to meet these challenges and must not advance on its own. In the coming weeks, Congress must seize the historic opportunity in the FY2022 budget resolution to build on the Biden Administration’s proposals and set the stage for a bold reconciliation package.
The draft budget from Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders represents the minimum scale necessary to tackle our nation’s most urgent challenges. This $6 trillion proposal should be the floor, not the ceiling, for the ultimate reconciliation bill. Over a ten-year period, it represents just over 1 percent of the U.S. GDP and less than half of Pentagon spending given current trends. The proposal is reported to improve on the Biden Administration’s proposals by allowing Congress to expand Medicare, a policy supported by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Senator Sanders also proposes increased funding to address climate change and provides a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants.
To advance equity, we need big investments, and they need to be targeted at marginalized communities for the greatest impact. For example, Congress should make the American Rescue Plan’s expansion of the Child Tax Credit permanent, with critical improvements so it functions more like a true child allowance program that is accessible and available to all children. Closing the Medicaid coverage gap would provide health coverage for 2.2 million more Americans, 60 percent of whom are Black or Latinx. Expanded paid leave would make sure that everyone has time to care for themselves, their families and loved ones.
An equitable economic recovery effort, one that will not further exacerbate inequities by race and gender or further entrench occupational segregation and wage disparities, requires that Congress invest at least $700 billion in direct spending for child care and early learning. To achieve President Biden’s goal of cutting climate pollution in half by 2030, we need $1.1 trillion in public investments over a decade for clean energy and hundreds of billions of dollars more to expand and electrify public transit and retrofit our schools and homes. To build a more just economy, these investments must include high-road labor, environmental, and equity standards while supporting the right of Indigenous people to free, prior, and informed consent.
An equitable budget must require the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share to create a fairer tax system as demanded by the public, reduce inequality and help sustain funding for critical programs. President Biden has proposed sensible and very popular tax reforms that can raise about $3.8 trillion exclusively from the rich and corporations. Congress should, at a minimum, enact those measures alongside the $600 billion in savings that Chair Sanders proposes from allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, which is also very popular with the public.
Budgets are moral statements. Right now, too many families continue to struggle to balance childcare, family and work, and millions struggle just to make ends meet, all while the ultra-wealthy continue to reap billions without paying their fair share. Communities across the country are demanding a budget resolution that meets the scope and scale of this moment. We urge Congress to adopt an FY2022 budget that allows for at least $6 trillion in new spending through budget reconciliation to deliver for our families, communities, and our nation.
Original Signatories
Progressive Caucus Action Fund
Economic Policy Institute
Institute for Policy Studies
Poor People’s Campaign
1199//SEIU united healthcare workers east
350Kishwaukee
9to5
9to5 Colorado
Addiction Connections Resource
AFGE Local 704
AIDS Alabama
Alabama Faith Council
Alabama Interfaith Power & Light
Alabama Poor People's Campaign
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
Americans for Financial Reform
Americans for Tax Fairness
Arkansas Poor People's Campaign
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
ATU 1700
Awaken Pittsburgh
B' Hallmark Entrepreneurial Empowerment Programme (BHEEP)
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Black Business Women Rock Louisville
Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC)
Broward for Progress
Buddhist Global Relief
California Poor People's Campaign
Campaign for America's Future
Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security
Center for Coalfield Justice
Center for International Policy
Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research (CLEAR)
Center for Popular Democracy
Chemung County Mutual Aid
Children's Defense Fund
CitySquare
Climate Reality Project Dallas Fort Worth Chapter
Coalition for Health Care of NC
Coalition for Peace Action
Coalition for Social Justice
Coalition on Human Needs
CODEPINK
Common Defense
Community Catalyst
Community Change Action
Community Data Roundtable
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action
Defenders of Democracy
Demos
Detroit Action
Detroit Affordable Housing Task Force
Economic Policy Institute
Economic Security Project Action
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
Endangered Species Coalition
Equal Rights Advocates
Every Mother is a Working Mother Network
Every Texan
Faith Community of St. Sabina
Faith in Public Life Action
Faithful America
Family Equality
Family Values@Work Action
First Congregational Church UCC
Florida Council of Churches
Foundation for Integrative AIDS Research (FIAR)
Franciscan Action Network
Friends of the Earth U.S.
Fruit Belt Advisory Council
Global Faith and Justice Project, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Global Women's Strike
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
Greater Birmingham Ministries
Greater New Haven Peace Council
Green New Deal Network
Greenpeace USA
Groundwork Action
Hawaii Children's Action Network
Health Care for America Now (HCAN)
Hope 4 All UHM Interfaith Community
ILLINOIS Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Immigrant Justice Ministry of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
Indigenous Environmental Network
Indivisible
Indivisible Asheville/WNC
Indivisible Nova West
Insight Center for Community Economic Development
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
Interfaith Peace Working Group
Iowa Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Jones Church
Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice
Kansas Movement for a People's Party
Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign
Keystone Progress
Koinonia Faith Ministries
KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change
Labor Network for Sustainability
Legal Aid at Work
Liberation in a Generation
Living United for Change Arizona (LUCHA)
Louisiana League of Conscious Voters
Lower Cape Indivisible
Main Street Alliance
Maine Women's Lobby
Marked By COVID
Maryland Poor People's Campaign
Massachusetts Peace Action
Meditation Coalition
Michigan People's Campaign
Minnesota Poor People's Campaign
Mothering Justice
Movement in Faith
MoveOn
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC)
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women's Law Center
NC Climate Justice Collective
NC Democratic Party Labor Caucus & Southeastern NC Central Labor Council
NC Poor People's Campaign A National Call For Moral Revival
NC Poor People’s Campaign
Nebraska Poor People's Campaign
Neil Tellier Ministries
Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility of United Church of Christ
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Georgia Project Action Fund
New Haven Peoples Center
New Jersey Poor People's Campaign
North Carolina Peace Action
Northern KY Justice and Peace
Oklahoma Poor People’s Campaign
One World Center
Our Revolution
Our Revolution Pennsylvania
Path to Citizenship
Pax Christi Illinois
PCUSA Washington Office of Public Witness
Peace Action WI
Peace Builders of OC
Pennsylvania Chapter Coalition for Peace Action
Pennsylvania Council of Churches
People's Action
Policy Matters Ohio
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Poor People's Campaign, North Carolina
Poor Peoples Campaign NY State
Population Health Analytics Association Incorporated
Progressive Democrats of America
Public Citizen
R2H Action [Right to Health]
Red Umbrella Mobilization Project (RUMP)
Renew U.S.
Repairers of the Breach
Responsible Wealth
Restoration Praise Temple
Rights & Democracy - NH & VT
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility
Schenectady Community Ministries
Second Chance Freedom Foundation
Service Employees International Union
Seventh Episcopal District, CME Church
Sierra Club
Sisters of Loretto/Loretto Community
Social Security Works
Southeast Michigan Jobs with Justice
SuperMajority
St. John's Presbyterian Church in Berkeley
St. Joseph AME Church (Durham, NC)
Stevens Chapel Church Inc
Sunrise Anchorage
Sunrise Knoxville
Sunrise Movement
SWASC
Take on Wall Street
Tax March
Tennessee Poor People's Campaign
The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries
The Festival Center
The Gaia Provision
The People's Lobby
Transform Network
Trinity Las Americas United Methodist Church
UltraViolet
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community
Unite North Metro Denver
United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE)
United for a Fair Economy
United for Peace and Justice
United We Dream
Universal Income Project
Urban Ally
Veterans For Peace, Chapter 87
Voices for Progress
Washington Poor People's Campaign
Washington State Community Action Partnership
Waterspirit
We All Rise
We Demand More Coalition
West Virginia Poor Peoples Campaign
Westside Ultraviolet
Why Hunger
WILPFstlouis
Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice
Wisconsin Poor People’s Campaign
Women of Color Global Women's Strike
Women's International League for Peace & Freedom, Des Moines Branch
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom US
Working Families Party
zelma street mission/kinship art house
Zion Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN