VIDEO: ICYMI: Auchincloss on American Rescue Plan, Raising the Wage, and Abolishing the Filibuster
VIDEO: ICYMI: Auchincloss on American Rescue Plan, Raising the Wage, and Abolishing the Filibuster
Washington, D.C. - This morning, Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D, MA-04), joined MSNBC to discuss how Democrats are delivering results with the American rescue plan and to advocate for abolishing the Senate filibuster and raising the minimum wage.
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ft4Q_O4kss
KEY EXCERPTS:
On The American Rescue Plan:
"This is a good bill. This is a bill that is going to crush this virus, get shots in arms, it's going to get kids back to school, it's going to get Americans back to work. It represents President Biden's promise to the American people, it represents what Democrats campaigned on in November, and it represents us delivering on our promise to Americans in the first fifty days of the Administration...I know some [Republicans] want to do what's right by their constituents but I can't speak to how they'll vote on this. What I know is we're going to pass this in the House because it's what the American people want, it's what they need, it's what they were promised, and it's what is required to get us to the other side of the pandemic...We are going to get enough vaccines for every American by May and by Independence Day, I think this country is going to loosen the shackles of this pandemic."
On Ending the Filibuster and Raising the Wage:
"I supported the Raise the Wage Act, I absolutely want leadership to bring it back on the floor for another vote in the House and in the Senate...I'm a believer in raising the minimum wage - we clearly have work to do to get the necessary support. What we saw in the Senate is one example of why I'm an advocate of getting rid of the filibuster - because Democrats have the majority right now, we're trying to deliver on a popular policy for Americans and it's being held up...I've got every confidence we can pay people $15 dollars an hour and still have a thriving entrepreneurial business ecosystem...What we've seen over the last 25 years is essentially a barbell economy in which there's a huge pool of service workers who are struggling to get by and on the other end knowledge economy professionals who are doing exceptionally well. And we've got to rebuild that middle class, we've got to turn that barbell into a more evenly distributed fair economy. And the minimum wage helps do that, especially for the service workers."
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