Statement by National NOW President Christian F. Nunes
Why is it always the people with the most at risk who have to pay the highest price to correct our politicians’ failures?
Tonight’s vote in the House of Representatives to suspend the debt ceiling leaves hundreds of thousands in the balance.
It will increase hunger and poverty, cut affordable housing and homelessness programs, and add unimaginable burdens to those already facing relentless pressure and hardship.
But the Trump tax cuts to the rich are preserved. So are loopholes that make it easier for the wealthy to cheat on their taxes.
NOW members recognize that the price of a national debt default was too high—but we know that the bill the House will pass tonight asks too much from those who have the most at stake—and the least resources.
The bill will save the country from going into default—but push people deeper into poverty. What’s more, it perpetuates failed, systemically racist work-reporting requirements that stigmatize people with low-incomes and gives oxygen to unfounded stereotypes.
Once again, we’ve been pulled back from disaster, but the system that got us here is a failure. We need to elect lawmakers who won’t bring us back to the brink—and who will prioritize fighting hunger, poverty, homelessness, and racism over partisan politics.