The same arguments apply to food aid. From now on, people under 50 who do not have dependents or disabilities must already prove they are working to get help. Republicans want to bring that to 56. Public Policy Researchers recently studied the potential impact; they found that this would “remove food assistance benefits for an estimated amount 275,000 low-income people between 50 and 55 years old, many of whom have health problems and who take care of others. This would add to food insecurity not only for individuals but also for their families, and it would also negate the economic benefits for their communities derive from their ability to buy food.
House Democrats are particularly unhappy on this potential part of the deal, and the leaders said so at the White House. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar called White House negotiators on Thursday to tell them they could not count on up to 100 Democratic votes for a deal if those kinds of concessions were included. “We’ve been extremely clear where we are based on what’s in it,” a senior Democratic official told Punchbowl.
Withdrawing funds from the IRS is another unnecessary concession that only reinforces bullshit Republican rhetoric. Democrats in Congress joined Biden in securing new IRS funding in last year’s Cut Inflation Act, totaling $80 billion over the next 10 years, which was long overdue. after decades of IRS budget cuts that left the agency struggling with old technology and overstretched staff. .
The Congressional Budget Office projected this new funding would raise approximately $203 billion over the next decade; discounting the $80 billion it costs, the Treasury would get $124 billion from this investment. And many rich people who cheated on their taxes will finally have to cough up their fair share because there will finally be enough IRS auditors to prosecute them.
This part was enough to upset the Republicans. They insist this would mean armed IRS thugs would break into every Republican home to steal their hard-earned cash in politically motivated revenge. It’s how far they will go to keep the rich from having to pay taxes. Decades of tax cuts by the Bush and Trump administrations have not been enough: Republicans want to stop the rich from paying so much. So why give them even so much of a win over this bullshit?
On top of all that, defense spending is rising and Republicans would be able to prove the BS rhetoric that they support veterans – after passing their bill that cutting veterans services. It’s like throwing them a political lifeline when they deserve an anchor.
There’s little benefit to Biden dividing Democrats when McCarthy can barely hold his conference together. The Freedom Caucus is always raising hell, insisting they will only vote for the draconian bill they passed in April. Biden should force McCarthy to get the votes for any deal on his own, and not ask Democrats to hold their noses and vote for something that might hurt.
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We speak with Anderson Clayton, the 25-year-old chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party. Clayton has an overall plan for 2024 and explains the granular changes needed to get the vote on college campuses and in rural Tar Heel State communities.