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GOP still putting up roadblocks for US

DEAR EDITOR:

Republicans want us to forget they added $2 trillion to the national debt with their tax scam that gave money to uber wealthy individuals and corporations and added $6.8 trillion to the debt during the Trump administration. The bill is coming due.

As consumers, when we charge something on our credit card and then use those purchases, we can’t tell the financial institution, “Sorry, our bill is over the limit we choose for ourselves so we are not going to pay.” Republicans, who had no concern about increasing the debt limit three times during the Trump administration, now are taking us to the brink of financial calamity by threatening to block the debt limit raise and playing politics with the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury.

The current debt ceiling temporary suspension is all about paying the bills on past appropriations. It has nothing to do with the infrastructure bills or the rest of Biden’s Build Back Better plans. In fact, both the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in the Senate, 69-30, and the infrastructure bill currently being drafted in Congress through reconciliation do not add to the debt and do not increase taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 per year.

Unlike the tax scam, which largely funded huge corporations’ stock buybacks and left corporations like Nike, FedEx, HP and First Energy paying zero federal income tax, the infrastructure bills will help all Americans. The infrastructure investments will create millions of jobs. The infrastructure bills will allow us to build and improve roads, bridges, transportation and internet access. It will enable us to move to clean, renewable energy and reduce the harm to our planet, raise millions of children out of poverty, expand Medicare and help working families with educational opportunities. These bills are widely popular. According to a recent Quinnipiac poll, 63 percent of Americans support the larger bill.

Once again, Republicans in Congress are out of step with the vast majority of Americans. House and Senate Republicans have pledged to vote against the Infrastructure bill that the vast majority of Americans know we need to invest in our future, and they continue to deflect and play politics with defaulting on the U.S. debt, which Treasury secretary Yellen says would result in financial calamity. We deserve much better.

KAREN ZEHR

Warren

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