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Tag: thom tillis
President Joe Biden

New Poll Shows Strong Support For Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ Plan

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

Likely voters in 12 key states strongly back President Joe Biden's proposed $3.5 trillion "Build Back Better" investment plan, according to a new survey from left-leaning polling outfit Data for Progress. The new survey finds majority support for each of its top provisions, even in states whose GOP senators oppose the agenda.

Data for Progress released polling on Tuesday showing that voters in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin support Biden's Build Back Better plan by at least a 15-point margin.

The data showed support for increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations, expanded caregiving infrastructure, investment to curb climate change, and a pathway to citizenship for children brought to the United States illegally as children and other undocumented immigrants working in the country.

Voters in five of the states, all of which could play an important role in upcoming national elections, are represented by at least one Republican senator who has publicly attacked the legislation and voted against the budget resolution that will potentially allow the Senate to pass it by a simple majority. But their attacks do not appear to have swayed constituents.

"Montana families & business owners are feeling the pain of #Bidenflation as prices skyrocket from groceries & gas to cars & housing," Montana Sen. Steve Daines tweeted on Friday. "Yet Democrats are still planning another massive tax & spending spree that will only make things worse. It's reckless."

But Montana's likely voters back the $3.5 trillion plan 56 percent - 41 percent. They support its investments in long-term care (77 percent - 19 percent), expanded Medicare coverage (75 percent - 22 percent), tax cuts for families (60 percent -34 percent), child care (59 percent- 36 percent), universal pre-K (57 percent - 39 percent), paid leave (55 percent -22 percent), and clean energy (51 percent -45 percent).

They also back increasing taxes on wealthy Americans (64 percent - 34 percent) and corporations (57 percent - 42 percent) and a pathway to citizenship for immigrants (62 % - 35 percent).

Support for the plan was even higher in the other 11 states surveyed.

West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito tweeted, "The Democrats' reckless tax and spending spree will ultimately be paid for by the middle-class Americans they pretend to be protecting."

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey decried it as "massively excess spending" that would combine with inflation in "a recipe for serious problems."

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina tweeted, "President Biden and Democrats are pushing a $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree that provides amnesty to millions while doing nothing to secure our border. Hard to imagine it getting even worse at the border, but their policies will encourage more illegal immigration."

And Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin tweeted, "The Democrats proposed $5.5 TRILLION tax & spending spree is reckless. You tax success, you're going to get less of it. We can't tax our way out of this. When will we get serious about controlling out-of-control spending?"

The legislation condemned by the GOP lawmakers is also highly popular among constituents of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Democrats who have expressed some concern about the plan's price tag.

In addition to the immigration reform provisions, the Build Back Better package would incorporate elements of Biden's American Families Plan such as free community college, free preschool, expanded child tax credits, and paid leave, as well as clean energy and climate provisions from his American Jobs Plan. It would keep Biden's promise to raise taxes only on businesses and those earning more than $400,000 a year.

The recent polling results are consistent with those of earlier surveys that have shown public support for the investments and funding.

Still, every single Republican in Congress has opposed the plan.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

Joni Ernst

Vulnerable Senate Republicans Squirm Over Trump’s Pandemic Confession

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Back in July, as Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst was being pressed on her previous assertion that two Ebola deaths on Obama's watch amounted to "failed leadership," Ernst told CNN that Donald Trump was really "stepping forward" on stemming the coronavirus. At the time, despite 130,000 Americans having already died, Ernst managed to squeeze out that claim with a relatively straight face.

But now that we know Trump did exactly the opposite by admittedly downplaying the pandemic, Ernst, the erstwhile self-professed hog castrator, is running scared. Thursday marked the second day in a row the GOP incumbent senator who's locked in a very tight reelection race ducked questions about Trump's taped confession that he lied to the American public about how deadly the coronavirus is.

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Louis DeJoy

Postmaster DeJoy’s Revealing Reaction To Explosive Allegations Against Him

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Most years, the vast majority of Americans — and probably even political reporters — would be unable to name the postmaster general. But in 2020, Louis DeJoy has become a household name for overseeing a dramatic decline in the U.S. Postal Service's performance, the result of policies that many fear may intentionally or unintentionally interfere with the processing of mail-in ballots during the November election.

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Thom Tillis

After Voting Drastic Cuts To CDC, GOP Senators Urge More Funding

Several Republican senators facing tough reelection races are now clamoring for more federal funds to deal with the new coronavirus outbreak.

But just a few years ago, those same lawmakers voted to repeal Obamacare, which would have slashed $1 billion in funds for the CDC's Prevention and Public Health Fund, including hundreds of millions set aside "for detecting and responding to infectious diseases and other public health threats."

Last week, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said that $2.5 billion proposed by the Trump administration to deal with the coronavirus outbreak "may just be a down payment."

Earlier in the month, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) wrote a letter to congressional appropriators requesting "sufficient funding for both current and potential future efforts" to deal with outbreaks.

In response to questions about the coronavirus outbreak, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) bragged on Friday about the size of the CDC budget, saying Congress "actually increased Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health funding over the past number of years."

Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) went so far as to ask the CDC to reimburse states and cities for efforts to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

Yet all four of these senators, along with most Republicans in the Senate and Congress, voted in 2017 to take $1 billion away from the CDC's Prevention and Public Health Fund when they voted to repeal Obamacare.

That same year, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials warned of "dire consequences" if the fund were to be eliminated, saying core public health programs would cease to exist if the Republican-backed bill became law.

At the time, the senators defended their votes to repeal Obamacare and eliminate funds for the Prevention and Public Health Fund, with Ernst saying Obamacare was "not sustainable," McSally calling it the "wrong approach," Gardner calling it "simply unacceptable," and Tillis claiming his vote was part of an "obligation" to fix a broken health care system.

Ernst, Tillis, and Gardner were senators when they voted to do away with the Prevention and Public Health Fund, and McSally was a member of the House. Both the House and Senate versions of the repeal tried to eliminate the fund.

The House-backed bill passed by a 217-213 vote, with support from only Republicans. The repeal bill failed in a 49-51 vote in the Senate, with all 49 votes in support of the repeal coming from Republicans. No Democrats in the House or Senate voted for the repeal.

All four of these senators face tight reelection races in their respective states.

Polls in North Carolina, Arizona, and Colorado show Democratic challengers leading Tillis, McSally, and Gardner, respectively. In December, Ernst held a 47 percent to 41 percent lead over her likely Democratic challenger, Theresa Greenfield.

Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning Democrats would need to flip at least four seats in order to gain control of the chamber. Democrats are also eyeing Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins is seeking reelection, while Republicans hope to oust Sen. Doug Jones from his seat in Alabama.

On Sunday, the World Health Organization reported 87,137 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The CDC has confirmed 43 cases in the United States, resulting in two confirmed deaths.

In late February, the CDC issued a warning for communities to prepare for the spread of the outbreak. The warning came less than a day after Donald Trump claimed the outbreak was "under control."

The Trump administration has tried to downplay concerns about the outbreak, despite the warnings from experts about the spread of the virus.

The new coronavirus causes respiratory illness, with symptoms that include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The CDC recommends people avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth; avoid close contact with people who are sick; clean and disinfect frequently touched objects regularly; and wash hands regularly as the best preventive techniques, just as with any other flu.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.