Statement on US Senate passage of HR1 from Heba Atwa, BTC Director of Legislative Advocacy & Campaigns

Note: The US Senate passed HR1 on July 1; it now goes to the US House for a final vote.

In the United States, poverty and hardship are policy choices. At a time when people are already struggling with high prices and growing barriers to financial stability and opportunity, the US Senate had the choice to make the wealthy pay what they truly owe in taxes and ensure people in North Carolina and across the country can afford basics like health care and groceries.

Instead, our elected leaders chose to side with the wealthy few and vote against our best interests to extend unpopular tax cuts, plunging millions into hardship. It’s clear that, if passed, this legislation will have devastating consequences: People across North Carolina will go without food, medicine, and health care; rural hospitals will close; farms and food retailers will suffer, and the economy will be weakened — all to help pay for trillions in tax cuts for those who need them the least.

North Carolinians deserve better.