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For Immediate Release
May, 26 2023, 01:38pm EDT
Contact:
Emily McCloskey emily@patrioticmillionaires.org
Patriotic Millionaires Slam Biden, GOP on Rollback of IRS Funding in Pending Debt Limit Deal
"This deal proves that the one thing the modern GOP cares about more than anything else is making sure rich people don’t have to pay taxes."
Yesterday, reports emerged that President Biden may agree to roll back $10 billion in IRS funding as part of a deal with Republicans to raise the debt limit.
In response, Morris Pearl, the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., released the following statement:
"A debt ceiling agreement that cuts IRS funding would be an embarrassing disgrace for both the GOP and President Biden.
House Republicans have been holding the global economy hostage because they claim that the federal debt is too big. But at the first opportunity, they are happy to scrap most of their cuts to limit the ability of the IRS to go after wealthy tax cheats, a move that would actually increase the debt by $120 billion.
The mask is off. This deal proves that the one thing the modern GOP cares about more than anything else is making sure rich people don’t have to pay taxes.
But we can’t blame the GOP for the fact that President Biden put this on the table in the first place. As Biden himself said many times, the agency desperately needs these funds to crack down on wealthy tax cheats and ensure that rich people start paying what we rightfully owe the country in taxes.
Biden shouldn’t be negotiating with McCarthy and his cronies in the first place over paying for things that we’ve already bought in the budget that was approved last year – you cannot negotiate with economic terrorists. To give into their demands over IRS funding at the eleventh hour is simply beyond the pale.
There is still time, albeit not much, for Biden to come to his senses and back out of this disgraceful IRS rollback. Agreeing to IRS funding cuts as a bargaining chip in debt ceiling negotiations would be an enormous stain on Biden’s legacy. If he wants to protect his reputation and our country, he should refuse to budge an inch on the debt ceiling and use his constitutional authority under the 14th Amendment to bypass this entire manufactured crisis."
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) 446-0489LATEST NEWS
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As Iranian missiles were being shot down over Israel on Friday following the IDF's unprovoked bombings of Iranian targets earlier in the day, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) condemned the government of "extremist" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu for his "ongoing deviance of international law" that has made the "world more dangerous and unstable" and trying to drag the United States into dangerous new war in the Middle East.
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Sanders said Israel's Friday bombings and assassination attacks against Iranian targets, including nuclear program facilities, "directly contravened the express wishes of the United States, which was seeking a diplomatic resolution to the long-standing tensions around Iran's nuclear program."
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Organizers behind the "No Kings" movement say that actions are planned in some 2,000 cities and towns throughout the country.
The actions are a counter to Trump's military parade, as well as his administration's "escalating use of military force in American cities" and GOP efforts to target health insurance coverage for millions, food assistance, and other anti-poverty programs for millions. Weather forecasters are warning of showers and thunderstorms for Saturday in Washington, D.C., which could disrupt the parade.
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In a Common Dreams op-ed Thursday, veteran organizer Paul Rogat Loeb, urged participants in "No Kings" to carry American flags.
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"The flag represents the imperfect but essential mechanisms of democracy that Trump's regime so profoundly threatens, ones that allow us to keep working for justice," he added.
Multiple observers have drawn a link between "No Kings" rallies and early American history.
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"As we protest, we build solidarity. From that solidarity, we feel less alone and build courage for the work ahead," Reich also wrote on X.
The protests will "allow people everywhere, from many different backgrounds, to join in what till now has always been the basic American message: No Kings. Not George, Not Elon, not Don," wrote author and climate organizer Bill McKibben on Friday in column that appeared in Common Dreams.
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In his piece, McKibben noted the manhandling of Democratic California Sen. Alex Padilla by federal agents on Thursday when he was handcuffed on the ground after being forcibly removed from a news conference held by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.
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This is a developing news story... Please check back for possible updates...
Iran on Friday reportedly fired hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel, and smoke was seen rising from the city of Tel Aviv as Tehran began its retaliation for the large-scale attack that Israel's military committed just hours earlier.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on social media that "all of Israel is under fire." Minutes later, the IDF said that the "Iranian attack is ongoing," noting that "dozens of additional missiles were launched toward Israel."
The Israeli military instructed residents across the country to "remain close to protected spaces" and minimize "movement in public areas" until an all-clear is given. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Unnamed U.S. officials told the Associated Press that American military assets were being used to help the Israelis intercept incoming missiles from Iran, though the sources, according to the AP, "did not say how the U.S. provided assistance."
Video footage posted to social media appeared to show Iranian missiles hitting Tel Aviv as Israel's military worked to intercept the attack:
Another angle: pic.twitter.com/JRgp0f0qjU
— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) June 13, 2025
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