If Republicans refuse to work with us, if Senator McConnell and Republicans in the Senate continue their strategy of obstructionism, it means passing a progressive agenda through the Senate with 51 votes, instead of 60, by using budget reconciliation. And I say that as Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. The American people are hurting, they want action, they want action NOW, and we have got to deliver for them.
And when my Republican colleagues complain about this approach, let me remind them [that] when Mitch McConnell was the Majority Leader, he used the reconciliation process to pass trillions of dollars in tax breaks primarily to the top one percent and multinational corporations. He used reconciliation to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Further, he was able to confirm three right-wing Supreme Court judges over a very short period of time by a simple majority vote.
In my view, if Senator McConnell could use the reconciliation process to give tax breaks to billionaires, we can use that same process to protect the interests of working families.
Related Off-site Links:
Bernie Sanders Launches Blistering Attack on Mitch McConnel – Alice Hutton (Independent, May 5, 2021).
Bernie Sanders Ready to Pass Biden's Infrastructure Bill Via Budget Reconciliation Process – Alayna Treene (Axios, February 24, 2021).
How An Arcane Budget Provision Could Let Democrats Advance Their Agenda – Lauren Gambino (The Guardian, April 10, 2021).
Senate Eyes Budget Rule to Push Past Filibuster – Lisa Mascaro (AP News, April 6, 2021).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Something to Think About – January 21, 2021
• Deep Gratitude
• Bernie Sanders’ “Revolution” is Ultimately One of Values – the Values of Justice, Hope, and Love
• Hope, History, and Bernie Sanders • Heather Cox Richardson on Combating the Republican Party’s “Rigging of the System”
• Sen. Tina Smith: The Filibuster Rule Is “Fundamentally Undemocratic”
• The Republican Party in a Nutshell
• Republicans Don't Care About American Democracy
Image: Kristen Solberg.
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