Public Citizen Applauds Increased Support for the People’s Budget
March 25, 2015
Public Citizen Applauds Increased Support for the People’s Budget
Statement of Susan Harley, Deputy Director, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division
Note: Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on alternative budget resolutions in addition to the resolution approved last week by the GOP-controlled House Budget Committee. One of those alternatives, the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ “People’s Budget,” did not garner a majority vote, but did pick up votes as compared to last year’s vote on the caucus’ alternative budget blueprint.
The People’s Budget proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) was a better alternative to the budget resolution approved today by the U.S. House of Representatives and should have received a majority vote. By focusing on policies like fairer corporate taxation as a way to pay for spending on essential government services such as improved health care and public financing of elections, the People’s Budget would have put America on a clearer path to a more just and democratic society.
Though it did not garner majority support in the McConnell-Boehner, corporate-controlled 114th Congress, it surely would win majority support from the American people.
Public Citizen applauds the lawmakers who did vote in favor of the CPC’s alternative budget resolution. Up from 89 yea votes last year, 96 representatives voted in favor of the CPC proposal this year. This increased show of support is good news for moving forward many of the legislative proposals contained in the alternative budget resolution.
The People’s Budget also would have instituted a tax on Wall Street trades, known as a financial transaction tax, which is a commonsense way to both increase revenue and calm markets now plagued with volatile high-frequency trading.
The People’s Budget also called for important changes to our tax code, such as ending deferral on foreign-made profits of U.S. companies and limiting the ability of companies to invert and reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction to avoid their fair share of taxes.
Public Citizen thanks the members who voted in support of the Congressional Progressive Caucus budget and looks forward to working with those members on legislation to implement various planks of the proposal.
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