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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release

In Letter to Progressive Caucus, Patriotic Millionaires Urge Showdown With Wall Street Democrats

Group Urges Progressives to Vote NO on Infrastructure Package Without Reconciliation

“The United States does not negotiate with terrorists. It’s time for the Congressional Progressive Caucus to extend that principle to the legislative process.”

WASHINGTON

Today, the Patriotic Millionaires sent a letter to members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus urging them to vote down the bipartisan infrastructure deal unless it's directly paired with a full $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill funded by higher taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.

Some excerpts from this fiery call to action:

"We've seen this horror movie before and, yes, the call is coming from inside the House (and Senate). It's time for real Democrats to get serious about exorcising the rot from the heart of their party."

"Call their bluff and force your "centrist" colleagues to choose between passing both bills, or neither. Force them to go big or go home - go home to their districts and explain why they did nothing to mitigate the damage wreaked on this country by a global pandemic and decades of government neglect."

"Bipartisanship is not a value system, it's an excuse for putting the interests of the rich over your constituents and assuming they will be too busy working second and third jobs to notice."

"To be clear, failure to act - failure to adequately address the challenges this country faces - will doom Democrats in 2022. Holding onto power requires using it effectively when you have it."

Click here to read the full letter.

While the letter is being circulated around Congress today, the Patriotic Millionaires are also putting pressure on Congressional Democrats outside the walls of Capitol Hill, on the streets of Washington, DC. The organization is running a mobile billboard campaign in front of the Capitol, the White House, and Jeff Bezos' DC mansion calling on Democrats to prioritize the Biden agenda and the American people over the fortunes of billionaires like Bezos.

The text of the billboard reads "Who's it going to be Democrats? Him or Us" with a photo of Jezz Bezos laughing paired with a photo of Joe Biden and a crowd of Americans. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE IMAGE.

This letter and billboard are part of the Patriotic Millionaires' continued campaign in support of Democrats passing a full $3.5 trillion reconciliation package funded exclusively through higher taxes on only wealthy individuals and corporations.

Previously, the organization released a hard-hitting ad campaign against Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) in response to his Committee's utterly inadequate reconciliation tax package, and organized an in-person protest outside his Springfield, MA office.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE AD and CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TAX THE RICH! MOBILE BILLBOARD

Please also see the Patriotic Millionaires initial correspondence to the Democratic caucus HERE, subsequent correspondence to the House Ways and Means Committee HERE, and a letter sent last Sunday to the White House urging President Biden to use any and all means necessary to pressure problem Democrats from blocking his agenda HERE.

The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.

(202) 446-0489