While discussing the unveiling of the Middle Class Prosperity Project along with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) ripped Congress for wasting months on passing Keystone XL for an oil company and shutting down DHS while the middle class gets screwed.
Video:
http://youtu.be/ANDWO6Q-ZnU
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Sen. Warren said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe:
Look, coming out this Great Recession the administration has done a lot, the economy is surely recovering, but what it really means is that rich people are doing well. Giant corporations are doing well, and the middle-class is just getting hammered. And what is this Congress doing? You know, The United States Senate, the Republicans are now in charge, and what have they spent their time on?
First they wanted to spend weeks passing a pipeline that principally benefit some foreign oil company, and now they want to spend a month on shutting down Homeland Security at a time when we face terrorist threats. So, what we’re trying to do is get some focus on what’s happening to America’s working people. What’s happening to the middle-class, and to remind people that the middle-class is in trouble because of deliberate policy choices made in Washington.
That means that we can make changes here in Washington, and that’s what we want to draw some attention to.
Warren and Cummings explained in a piece for USA Today that their goal is to give a voice to the middle-class, and undo a Washington that only works for the special interests, “That’s why this week we’re launching a new Middle Class Prosperity Project to give a voice in Washington to those who need it most — hard-working people across this country. On Tuesday, we will hold the first in a series of forums to examine economic policies threatening the middle class, and we’ll hear from leading economists about how to help families rebuild economic security. After the Great Depression, Congress enacted progressive policies to build and expand the middle class. But Washington became captive to powerful interests that game the system at the expense of the middle class. It’s time to change that system. We must free our government from the grip of armies of lobbyists and the corruption of corporate influence.”
What Warren and Cummings are doing is not about passing a specific bill. Their goal is to galvanize a movement that give Washington back to the people. Sen. Warren was right. The Republican-controlled Congress is ignoring the middle-class. The Keystone XL pipeline is a microcosm of how Congress no longer works for the middle-class.
Every moment begins with a message and voice. Sen. Warren and Rep. Cummings are giving a voice to the plight of millions of hard working Americans. It is up to the people to join the cause.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
