CCI Action members meet w/ Representative Braley
CCI Action members met with Representative Bruce Braley in Cedar Rapids while he was back in town for the month-long August recess. We went into the meeting with the goal of ensuring Braley would stand strong and push for expanding and strengthening Social Security, raising much needed revenue from Wall Street and pushing for fair and comprehensive immigration reform.
Social Security:
Congressman Braley expressed strong support for protecting Social Security and fighting back against proposed cuts like the Chained CPI that would hurt current and future beneficiaries. We agreed, but also told him now was the time to shift to a proactive agenda to strengthen and expand Social Security, not just fight back against proposed cuts. That's why Congressman Braley will return to Washington and reach out to Representative Linda Sanchez to see about co-sponsoring her legislation modeled after Sen. Harkin's Social Security Act of 2013 (S. 567) to strengthen and protect Social Security for generations to come.
Raising Revenue:
On the need to raise revenue from Wall Street, Congressman Braley agreed that those at the top as well as those engaging in high frequency risky trades need to pay their fair share. He has introduced legislation in the past that would place a fee on Wall Street trades without impacting the common investor or individual retirement plans. We encouraged him to look into Representative Keith Ellison's Inclusive Prosperity Act (H.R. 1579) that would go a long way in discouraging the riskiest of Wall Street behavior while raising much needed revenue.
Immigration Reform:
Congressman Braley expressed strong support for the need to pass fair and comprehensive immigration reform this year that includes a pathway to citizenship. He emphasized that a pathway to citizenship is not the same as amnesty and that politicians and the American people need to understand that. Braley said that House Speaker Boehner needs to ignore the voices of radicals like Rep. Steve King and bring the Senate bill up for a vote in the House.We'll stay in touch with Congressman Braley and his staff throughout the August recess and beyond to urge him to do all in his power to push for policies that put people before profits, politics and polluters!