Medicare won't cover dental care for seniors. No free community college is what it means. Child care and climate programs will be cut. Hearing care for seniors, paid family leave, immigrant protections, and the Child Tax Credit could all be thrown out entirely.
When it came to the largest peacetime military budget in history, all of that scrutiny disappeared. The most controversial parts of the military spending bill were negotiated behind closed doors and passed the House just hours after it was made public, meaning members of Congress couldn't possibly have read the whole thing before casting their votes.
The military spending bill just passed has some similarities to the one Sen. Joe Manchin says is too expensive.
Congress spends more on protecting the world's oil supply than it does on fighting climate change.
The Build Back Better proposal for preschool and child care would cost 40 billion dollars a year, but Congress spends more on a single military contractor.
The Pentagon didn't ask for an extra $25 billion next year for weapons, instead of the $20 billion a year tax credits for families and workers.
Congress will spend more on Space Force next year than it will on the health care for uninsured Americans proposal.
Congress spent twice as much on military bases in Germany last year as they did on the proposal for hearing benefits for seniors.
Who benefits from these choices?
Millions of children and workers would have economic security as a result of the Build Back Better Act. It would make child care more affordable, create jobs and invest in clean energy. It would raise revenue by taxing the wealthy and corporations.
Sky-high military spending helps perpetuate a foreign policy that brought us 20 years of disastrous war while subsidizing military contractor CEOs and polluting the planet, all at tremendous taxpayer expense.
Congress is willing to spend money and we know that any concerns about the cost of build back better are distraction.
It is time for Manchin, the main Democratic holdout, and the rest of our elected leaders to prioritize our lives and democracy. We need to pass the Build Back Better Act to invest in our people, so that we can fight the Pandemic and protect our right to vote, as well as other work.
The only way to build back better is from the bottom up.
