Warren and Sanders pen NY Times op-ed: 'Who Is Congress Really Serving?'

Warren and Sanders pen NY Times op-ed: 'Who Is Congress Really Serving?'

BY AVERY ANAPOL  December 18, 2017 - 08:00 AM EST

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/365398-warren-and-sanders-pen-ny-time...

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a new op-ed are criticizing their Republican colleagues for pushing an agenda they say is "widely disliked by the American people."

Warren and Sanders write in The New York Times that GOP priorities, like an effort to repeal ObamaCare and pass tax reform, have hurt working people.

"Despite a booming stock market and record corporate profits, workers in this country are being squeezed by flat wages, soaring household expenses and declining savings," Warren and Sanders write. "They want Washington to start working for them and to spend tax dollars investing in our future - not bankrupting it."

The op-ed comes ahead of a vote on the GOP tax plan, which has repeatedly polled as unpopular among Americans and has been criticized for primarily benefitting the wealthy and corporations.

Warren and Sanders express concern that the GOP tax plan will overshadow other issues, including passing a budget and preventing a shutdown, which is looming at the end of the week.

They specifically point to funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health insurance to low-income families, and acting to protect undocumented immigrants who benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era program that protects young immigrants that President Trump rescinded.

"Congressional Republicans face a choice," the piece reads. "Will they spend this week just trying to deliver partisan tax breaks for the rich? Or will they work with Democrats to pass a budget that supports working people?"

Warren and Sanders urge their fellow lawmakers to use this week's funding bill to fund social programs that support low- and middle-income people and working parents. They note Congress can use the measure to address care for veterans, Social Security, affordable health care and student loan debt.

"The task in front of Congress over the coming week boils down to a basic question: Does Washington work for all of us or just for those at the top?" they ask. "Congress has a chance, right now, to take steps that will make life a bit better for millions of working people immediately and in the years to come. We should seize it."