Washington, D.C. – Today, hundreds of Americans from all across the country joined Families Over Billionaires and our partners for a rally at the Capitol to “welcome back” Congress from recess and remind them of the widespread and bipartisan opposition to their billionaire-first tax plans. Alongside moving remarks by elected leaders, rally attendees heard from nurses, faith leaders, tribal advocates, and more about how Congressional Republicans’ tax plans and the ongoing Trump-Musk cuts will hurt them and their communities.
Full video of the rally is available [here]. See below for select highlights from Members of Congress and everyday Americans who spoke at today’s rally.
Members of Congress:
- House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08)
“They believe – some of these sycophants – they believe that they work for Donald Trump. Congress doesn’t work for Donald Trump. We work for the American people. […] We believe in an economy that works for everyday Americans. They want an economy of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires. That’s what the GOP tax scam is all about. That’s why we’re going to stop the GOP tax scam dead in its tracks and put families over billionaires.”
- Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA):
“Tax breaks for the wealthy, tax breaks for the billionaires, tax breaks for the largest corporations in the world. That’s their agenda, but they know they have to pay for it somehow, and so what they’re doing is executing a plan that’s going to make working families have to struggle even more. […]
“If you’re a billionaire like Donald Trump, you get a tax cut. If you’re a billionaire like Elon Musk, you get a tax break. If you’re wealthy enough to be a part of his cabinet or be the leaders of the largest corporations in the world, they want to give you a tax cut, but how are they going to pay for it? If you rely on Medicaid for health care, Trump wants you to pay for his tax break. If you rely on Social Security, Trump wants you to pay for his tax break. If you have kids in public school, Trump wants you to pay for his tax break. If you’re a veteran who sacrificed for this country, and happen to be a federal employee, Trump wants you to pay for his tax break.”
- Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01):
“Republicans are only looking out for the wealthiest Americans, and the numbers prove it. 70% of the tax breaks in this package they’re working on will go to the richest 5% of people in this country. That means while the richest in this country get an additional tax cut, everyday families end up paying more. And anyone can see that.”
- Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08):
“I want to thank everybody here for coming to fight, not just to protect our democracy, but to defend the achievements of democracy like Social Security, and Medicare, and Medicaid. These are the things that prior democratic movements have given to us, and we’re going to defend them with everything that we’ve got.”
- Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04):
“Care for our families should not be sacrificed for kickbacks to billionaires. Now look, sometimes politics can be complicated. Sometimes politicians make this much harder than it needs to be. When the choice is between private jets and yachts for the few or basic medical supplies and services for pregnant women, newborn babies, disabled people, and senior citizens all across the country, it’s not complicated to be for families over billionaires.”
Everyday Americans Impacted by Republicans’ Cuts & Plans
- Josephine Rios, nursing assistant from Orange County, CA and SEIU United Healthcare Workers West member:
“Today I’m not here only as a health care care worker, but as a grandmother. Elijah is the light of our family. […] He has cerebral palsy. He’s affected four different ways because of a brain bleed during birth. […] It’s crazy how they do not consider how these cuts would risk someone’s life.”
- Trisha Rivers, Executive Director for Red Sky Nation
“I’m here today to welcome back Congress and to remind them of their responsibilities and obligations to millions of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet. […] We don’t have to agree on everything to agree on this: tax breaks for billionaires doesn’t fix a damn thing. […] I’m proud to be here with my rural Iowan neighbors. I’m proud to be here with all of you. I’m proud to be here because I know we won’t stop making noise and using our power until we see tax policy that helps our communities thrive.”
- Reverend Camille Henderson-Edwards, Senior Executive Director for Advocacy for The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society:
“Friends, it should not be an act of miraculous intervention for people to be made well and get the basic care that they need. It should not take an act of divine intervention for people to be able to put food on the table. Or to make sure that bills are paid. Or to receive a decent education. […] Congress is elected to serve the people, and we will continue to speak out, we will continue to fight back until we have legislation measures that care for the whole of humanity.”
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Families Over Billionaires was proud to host this rally alongside incredible partner organizations including: Americans for Tax Fairness, Caring Across Generations, Fair Share America, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Indivisible, MomsRising, MoveOn, National Federation of Federal Employee, National Women’s Law Center, NETWORK, People’s Action Institute, P Street, Red Sky Nation, SEIU, Social Security Works, and Unrig Our Economy. See below for statements from our partners:
- David Kass, Americans for Tax Fairness Executive Director
“GOP Representatives discovered what we already knew—whether in town halls or the nation’s capital, selling your constituents out by cutting vital family programs to fund $5 trillion in tax cuts for billionaire backers is deeply unpopular. As Congress returns from recess, Trump and his Hill allies will push aggressively for deep cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, education, and Social Security to further enrich billionaires and elites like themselves. But as we’ve seen across this country, in both red and blue districts alike, Americans will not stand by as their members of Congress put the interests of the wealthy over their own communities.”
- Nicole Jorwic, Chief Program Officer at Caring Across Generations
“Rather than fulfilling promises to support families, some political leaders are busy playing political games with public dollars and pushing our country to the brink. Right now, so many vital programs, such as Medicaid, are at risk of losing funding because lawmakers want more tax cuts for billionaires. Instead of boosting billionaires’ profits, we demand Congress protect the health and well-being of the millions of families who are looking to you for help. Our country’s families deserve better options and opportunities to care for themselves and their loved ones without worrying about losing their livelihoods. Our nation’s leaders must put families first.”
- Kristen Crowell, Fair Share America Executive Director
“Just like the 2017-2018 ACA repeal fight, the American public is furious with deals that are being cut in Washington, DC. In my twenty-five years of organizing, I have never seen anything that has galvanized our communities more than the anger we have for out-of-touch politicians who are using our tax dollars to further enrich the billionaire class, all while cutting services and programs that we rely on. As Members come back to work this week, we hope that they are ready to get serious and do the work that the American public expects from them – and that does not include giving more of our tax dollars away to billionaires.”
- Amelia Kegan, Associate General Secretary for Policy and Advocacy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation
“The federal budget is a moral document, outlining the priorities of our country. The House budget resolution makes draconian cuts to Medicaid and SNAP while extending tax cuts that would give the richest 0.1% an additional $314,000 a year. Each person should have the right to live a life of dignity with access to basic necessities. Taking away health care and food assistance from struggling families to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy is simply immoral. As we are reminded in Matthew 25: ‘whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
- Leah Greenberg, Co-Executive Director of Indivisible
“Republicans might have been hoping to hide out in their districts over recess, but their constituents made sure that they felt the pressure. In over 60 districts, constituents held empty chair town halls to call them out for slashing Medicaid to fund tax breaks for their billionaire buddies. And that pressure won’t let up just because they’re back in DC. We’re going to make sure that no matter where these Republicans go, they’re held accountable for gutting health care just to help billionaires get even richer.”
- Rahna Epting, Executive Director of MoveOn
“Across the board, Americans want their elected officials to help make their lives more affordable. But Congressional Republicans are opting to let Elon Musk take a chainsaw to their constituents’ health care and Social Security to make room for tax cuts for billionaires. It’s time to stop selling working families out.”
- Randy Erwin, National President of National Federation of Federal Employees
“Congress swore an oath to the Constitution and has a duty to represent the American people, not just the ultra-wealthy. Slashing public services and firing federal workers to pay for a 4.5 trillion-dollar tax cut will cripple American economies and communities across the country. We must stand up for working families and hold our elected officials accountable to their constituents, not billionaires.”
- Angel Padilla, Chief Strategy and Policy Officer at the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund
“While women and families struggle to afford basic necessities like eggs or rent, Republicans in Congress are pushing to slash vital programs that they rely on—just to hand out trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy. Instead of catering to billionaires, congressional Republicans should listen to their constituents, who are calling for investments in child care, housing, and aging and disability care—not more giveaways to the richest few.”
- Joan F. Neal, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
“For Catholics, this is the Season of Lent, a time for reflection, fasting, and sacrifice. This year, NETWORK is demanding that Congress, and the Trump-Vance Administration, give up billionaires for Lent. Billionaires shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than working families while Congress cuts funding for essential programs like Medicaid and SNAP. The ultra-wealthy continue to hoard resources while millions struggle to afford food, housing, and healthcare. This is immoral. Instead, Congress must make them pay their fair share—so that our communities can have what they need to thrive.”
- Sulma Arias, Executive Director of People’s Action Institute
“The members of Congress have to make a choice. Will they vote to take away Medicaid from Carly Morton, a Pennsylvanian diagnosed with neurogenic Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (nMALS) and other conditions that put her life at risk, so they can give Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, a tax cut? Or does Carly get to live? Will Congress vote for essential services for rural North Carolinians who have yet to recover from Hurricane Helene? Or will Congress vote to give our public dollars to private corporations so CEOs can buy yachts, mansions, and private jets? Working people have made this the wealthiest country in the history of the world. There is more than enough for all of us if the billionaires and corporations that profit from our pain don’t steal it. Every member of the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate has to choose whether they’re going to invest in us or rob us blind.”
- Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works
“The Musk-Trump administration is destroying Social Security from within, setting the program up for a collapse so that they can bring in Wall Street to take over. They are telling Americans that if they complain when they don’t receive benefits, they are fraudsters. Here’s what they don’t want us to know: If we make billionaires pay their fair share into Social Security, instead of giving them tax breaks, we can protect and expand benefits.”
- Kobie Christian, Unrig Our Economy Spokesperson
“As families continue to struggle with high costs, they’ve made their feelings about Congressional Republicans’ pro-billionaire agenda clear: They’re outraged, and rightfully so. Just like at the Capitol today, Americans have gathered by the hundreds and thousands in towns and cities across the country to demand that their members of Congress fight for working families rather than their billionaire buddies and backers. But instead of making life more affordable for their constituents, Republicans’ plans would raise costs on hardworking people by allowing Elon Musk’s DOGE to decimate programs like Social Security and making massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP – all to give billionaires and giant corporations another giant payday.”
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