Katrina vanden Heuvel: Bernie Sanders and the National Priorities Act (The Nation)

[marmar]

BLOG | Posted 03/15/2007 @ 2:01pm
Legislation Watch


Senator Bernie Sanders – founder and current member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus – wants to raise $100 billion to address the needs of ordinary Americans who are currently struggling, and another $30 billion to lower the deficit.

"It's very, very simple," Sanders told me, "if we have the guts to stand up to the wealthiest one percent of America."

Sanders has introduced the National Priorities Act to "expand the middle class, reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, and lower the poverty rate" – largely through rescinding the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of American taxpayers.

Speaking at a Senate Budget Committee meeting yesterday, Sanders said of a current Senate Budget Resolution for FY 2008: "While the Budget Resolution… is far from perfect, it is much more responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans than the President's….But I think that over the long-term, we can and must do much better in establishing our budgetary priorities than this budget does." .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=175705