During Budget Resolution Debate, Kelly Defends Working Families, Proposes Amendment Opposing Tax Cuts for Billionaires

"Do we want to be a country that hands billionaires another break-while a kid goes without lunch at school?"

Last night, as the Senate debated a new budget resolution paving the way for the Trump agenda of massive tax cuts for the wealthiest paid for by the American people, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly took to the Senate floor to speak out against the plan and share stories of the hardworking families who are already struggling with raising prices.

In his speech, Kelly laid out the vital programs-like Medicaid, SNAP, and school meals-millions of American families rely on. Republicans are targeting these programs to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations: "This budget is about what gets cut to pay for those tax breaks. It's about which kid doesn't get a meal at school. Which family loses their home to cover medical care for their kid or their parent. Which patient skips the medical care they need-because Congress decided billionaires needed a bigger tax break."

Kelly also read letters from Arizonans whose lives depend on these programs, including a school nutrition worker worried about cuts to student meal programs, a medical student who relied on Medicaid to stay healthy during training, and a woman in heart failure who said losing access to care would be a death sentence saying, "Removing programs such as Medicaid and SNAP would be terribly detrimental to people like myself, with disabilities," she wrote. "I myself, along with other patients with Congenital Heart Disease, whether they be adults like myself or young children looking to stand a chance in this world, would pass away."

At approximately 10:05 p.m. EST, Kelly led a vote series to oppose tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. The amendment he proposed would prevent anyone making more than $100 million per year from getting a tax cut. That is the top 0.002%, those making more than 600 times the average household.

"Working families are struggling to make ends meet and get ahead, and the American people don't believe any multi-millionaire, billionaire, or big corporation need another tax handout. So, before this budget to give the wealthiest more tax breaks moves forward, I think the American people deserve a debate about who in this country is so rich that they don't need this massive tax cut. So, here's my proposal to start: can we agree that no one making more than $100 million a year should have lower taxes?"

Click here to watch and download his remarks defending working Americans. Click here to watch and download his remarks supporting his amendment.