SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Demonstrators descended on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, demanding that Republican lawmakers who voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act hear their concerns about the legislation. (Photo: @riseandresistny/Twitter)
'Tax the Rich, Not the Sick!': Hundreds Storm Capitol Hill Offices to Denounce GOP Tax Bill
Outraged demonstrators arrested outside of Republican lawmakers' offices as House and Senate prepare #GOPTaxScam for conference committee
Dec 04, 2017
Opponents of the Republican tax plan moving through Congress showed they were not backing down on Tuesday as hundreds of protesters chanted "Kill the bill!" and "Tax the rich, not the sick!" as they assembled outside the offices of GOP lawmakers.
While numerous arrests were made in the crowded hallways, the demonstrators made it clear that the fight to defeat the bill is not over yet.
Demonstrators targeted Reps. Ryan Costello (R-Penn.), Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), and other Republicans who voted for the tax plan, visiting their offices and telling staffers how they would be impacted by the law. Both Costello and Comstock are up for re-election in 2018.
Capitol Police began arresting protesters at about 2:30pm outside Costello's office, with chants of "Kill the bill, Costello!" continuing as people were led away in handcuffs.
The Senate passed its bill in the middle of the night on Saturday, after finalizing the proposal just five hours earlier. Democrats protested that no hearings had been held about the potential impact of the bill, which a number of bipartisan groups found would raise taxes on middle-class families by 2027. A Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday found that 53 percent of Americans disapprove of the legislation, while just 29 percent support it.
The Senate and House must still reconcile their two versions of the bill in a conference committee which was formed on Monday. Nine Republicans and five Democrats from the House have been named to the panel, with the Senate expected to send members later this week. The committee will debate the two bills with the goal of sending one piece of legislation to President Donald Trump's desk by Christmas.
With continued pressure in the coming days and weeks, said opponents of the #GOPTaxscam on social media, there is still a chance of keeping the bill from becoming law:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Opponents of the Republican tax plan moving through Congress showed they were not backing down on Tuesday as hundreds of protesters chanted "Kill the bill!" and "Tax the rich, not the sick!" as they assembled outside the offices of GOP lawmakers.
While numerous arrests were made in the crowded hallways, the demonstrators made it clear that the fight to defeat the bill is not over yet.
Demonstrators targeted Reps. Ryan Costello (R-Penn.), Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), and other Republicans who voted for the tax plan, visiting their offices and telling staffers how they would be impacted by the law. Both Costello and Comstock are up for re-election in 2018.
Capitol Police began arresting protesters at about 2:30pm outside Costello's office, with chants of "Kill the bill, Costello!" continuing as people were led away in handcuffs.
The Senate passed its bill in the middle of the night on Saturday, after finalizing the proposal just five hours earlier. Democrats protested that no hearings had been held about the potential impact of the bill, which a number of bipartisan groups found would raise taxes on middle-class families by 2027. A Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday found that 53 percent of Americans disapprove of the legislation, while just 29 percent support it.
The Senate and House must still reconcile their two versions of the bill in a conference committee which was formed on Monday. Nine Republicans and five Democrats from the House have been named to the panel, with the Senate expected to send members later this week. The committee will debate the two bills with the goal of sending one piece of legislation to President Donald Trump's desk by Christmas.
With continued pressure in the coming days and weeks, said opponents of the #GOPTaxscam on social media, there is still a chance of keeping the bill from becoming law:
Opponents of the Republican tax plan moving through Congress showed they were not backing down on Tuesday as hundreds of protesters chanted "Kill the bill!" and "Tax the rich, not the sick!" as they assembled outside the offices of GOP lawmakers.
While numerous arrests were made in the crowded hallways, the demonstrators made it clear that the fight to defeat the bill is not over yet.
Demonstrators targeted Reps. Ryan Costello (R-Penn.), Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), and other Republicans who voted for the tax plan, visiting their offices and telling staffers how they would be impacted by the law. Both Costello and Comstock are up for re-election in 2018.
Capitol Police began arresting protesters at about 2:30pm outside Costello's office, with chants of "Kill the bill, Costello!" continuing as people were led away in handcuffs.
The Senate passed its bill in the middle of the night on Saturday, after finalizing the proposal just five hours earlier. Democrats protested that no hearings had been held about the potential impact of the bill, which a number of bipartisan groups found would raise taxes on middle-class families by 2027. A Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday found that 53 percent of Americans disapprove of the legislation, while just 29 percent support it.
The Senate and House must still reconcile their two versions of the bill in a conference committee which was formed on Monday. Nine Republicans and five Democrats from the House have been named to the panel, with the Senate expected to send members later this week. The committee will debate the two bills with the goal of sending one piece of legislation to President Donald Trump's desk by Christmas.
With continued pressure in the coming days and weeks, said opponents of the #GOPTaxscam on social media, there is still a chance of keeping the bill from becoming law:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.