command and northern commit the north american aerospace defense command. this nominee spoke earlier today in front of the senate armed services committee. the drink will air tonight at night eastern on c-span. on c-span2 the senate foreign relations committee will hold a hearing on the future of use policy with yemen. witnesses from the state department and the pentagon look at the u.s. and better aid people in yemen and why spend large cholera outbreaks across the country. you could see that tonight at nine eastern on c-span2. >> tomorrow a hearing on u.s. policy in the middle east. state department officials are expected to testify on the syrian civil war and the political conflict in yemen. the hearings held by the house foreign affairs committee and don't become live tomorrow at 1. congressional democrats joined activists for tax pellet outside the u.s. capitol. they spoke against the recent tax reform law and they plan to

rally on tax day. here's a look at that event. >> good afternoon, everybody. come gathering to closer so you warm up. it's for your own personal safety today. it's a little ironic that tax day, we're at the capital and there is an immense cold wind coming from the capital to us, so if that's poetic, you know, i don't know what is. my name is no coal deal. i'm the executive director of tax march, and thank you everyone for being here today. [applause] it is the day that taxes are due and it is today since the anniversary of our first movement march april 15 15th of last year when 125,000 people across the country showed up to demand tax fairness and transparency from their

government. now, i just got a push over to my phone that the irs is having trouble processing all the returns coming in today. i thought that we are supposed to be able to file taxes on a postcard? so there's another lie that paul ryan told us that isn't coming true. so why are we here today? we are here because the trump tax gives the majority of the tax cuts to those who don't need them. 83% of the tax cuts in this bill could is the wealthiest 1% of americans, and a majority of american workers, some of whom he will hear from later today will see absolutely no benefit at all and many will actually end up paying more. in fact, the same corporations who got giant tax cuts as a part of this bill and, of course, their rich ceos, are actually turning around and using their

tax cuts to close stores and reward their shareholders by buying back stock. buying back stock is, it used to be illegal in the '80s, but now it's a way for companies to reward their executives, many of whom are paid with company stock by artificially inflating the price. certainly these are just like shareholder bonuses and they are sorting of the $4000 wage increase that trump promised us as they tried to sell the bill. the trump tax is the bill that was written by lobbyists and for donors, so much so that billionaires like the koch brothers and sheldon adelson has spent more than $100 billion trying to deceive the american people about the impact of the law. and if you needed any more proof that the bill is for people like the koch brothers, they

personally donated $500,000 $5o paul ryan's super pac. [booing] speaking of paul ryan, it's interesting that he decided to retire just days before what should be his victory lap, tax day. he promised his members that voting for taxi from what secure their jobs, but maybe democrats victories in alabama and pennsylvania and others are scaring them away. another when just announced he's going to leave congress in may, charlie dent. so it seems like paul ryan might be ready to cash in on his billion-dollar gift to donors and big oil and pharmaceutical companies. i don't think it would be long before he announces he's joining the board at some big finance firm or drug companies like pfizer. pfizer, that is using its tax

cuts to actually raise drug prices on americans. but i'll say one final thing about paul ryan. if you are proud of your accomplishments, you don't quit and you don't run. so today we're going to hear from a number of our congressional democrats, every single democrat stood together and voted against this bill, and we should thank them for that. [applause] and were also could hear from some of the people who are going to be affected the most by this bill, those who rely on medicare and medicaid, and those programs are being put at risk. those who, you know, our public school teachers, our educators are doing good work and are being punished for the public service. so our first speaker is a president of latin america vote.

he was also the first millennial elected to statewide office. please welcome jason kantor. [applause] >> howdy. how y'all doing? warm, right? that's what i thought. that's cool. good. i i appreciate y'all being at i. okay, imagine for a minute like this group of people looking back at me that we all part of a corporate board. i'm sure you're all on several corporate boards so this'll be very easy for you to picture. imagine we are part of of the corporate board. now imagine we are all sitting around in a boardroom and this big old tax cut for rich people gets past and everybody around the boardroom table, everybody says you'll be ought to do is even though it doesn't make any economic sense, any sense for the company, let's go hire a bunch of people for no reason at all. do you think anybody had that conversation around the corporate boardroom in this country? i don't think so. now imagine if you did it a different way.

imagine if you to structure the economy, if you're too great a tax system that actually makes it so that folks who need a little bit more money in their pocket can actually a lot and spend it. now what happens around that same corporate boardroom? they say people are out there and they are buying stuff, and they are paying for services. maybe we should hire some more folks in order to make stuff and pay for services. that's how the economy actually works. that's how this whole thing actually works. they want you to believe that the way it works is that people they deemed virtuous to guess they all we have a lot of money in the pocket but those folks when a given little bit more money will out of a sense i guess of charity go and invest in regular folks. that's why they call this trickle trickle-down, right? because trickle-down involves a middleman. they are trying to convince the american people that in order for the average american to have a little bit more dough in the pocket that it first must go through a virtuous middleman in

order for it -- that's ridiculous. we don't need a middleman. you can actually empower people right there at the beginning of the process. this is like thinking going away somebody can succeed in vegas is that they kept the dealer. [laughing] that's what it is. that's what they're trying to do. they think they didn't pull good car. >> they think they must not be good at the game. they figure it's our donors, they are the dealer, the middlemen. so if we kept them then we will be okay. and what the sole philosophy that they have loses sight of is that taxes, that's not the only thing that we find taxing and our lives as americans. if we're trying to make sure we can afford health care for ourselves and her family, that is taxing every month on our family. if we're trying to make sure that market can afford to go to college, that's taxing on us as we say for the tuition. it's taxing the people trying to afford school. if we want to go home to her hometown after school and not be so steeped in that they we can actually afford to go home,

that's taxing on our financial situation. all of this is taxing on us. so it is a live to tell the american people that the only thing taxing on your lives is your actual taxes. that's not true. it's why we should invest in health care as a right for every single american. [applause] it's why we should make college more affordable so that every american home town is a place where you can find success without having to move away if you don't want to. that's what we really want. so all of this is about whether or not we are going to the american dream sensible to everybody. this trump tax is not about that. that's not what it's about. our vision is about that. our vision is about recognizing that, to really care about everybody in this country is not a weakness. patient is about saying when you have some success you don't fall the latter up behind you. you look around and find other ladders, you lower than dent and then you reach down and did thu pull the entire country up with you. that's what we are about.

thank you for the added today and thank you for standing with us. thank you. [applause] [chanting] thank you, jason. give them a round of applause. [applause] >> all right. we're going here follow one of our first congressional champions of the day, representative brenda lawrence represents the 14th 14th distrt in michigan. please welcome representative lawrence. [applause] >> today is tax day, but every day, every day is the day that we should stand up for truth. when i took my oath of office i said i promise to speak truth to power, to have the political courage to call it as we see it. and today we are here today to say that this tax plan is a scam. it is a scam.

ladies and gentlemen, i represent michigan. let me give you some facts. the top 5% of michigan earners will receive 64% of the states tax breaks. that is not a tax plan that will protect the working class of america. we go to work and would pay our taxes out of trust that our government will use those taxes and administer and legislate policy that will take care of all of america, not just the select richview. we have to continue to use our voices. we cannot be silenced. we must continue to fight. here's the truth. the gop tax scam, and we need to say it here it's not a plan, it's a scam. it puts corporations and the

richest before the working class of america. let's continue to fight and use our voices because they count on is getting tired. that's why you get inundated with so much every single day here do not lose focus. do not be silenced. because this is our country. we are still one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. and we will fight for fair, they are taxes for this country. thank you. god bless you. [applause] [chanting] stop the taxes. stop the taxes. >> thank you, representative lawrence. next were going from senator chris van hollen right here from maryland. come on up here, van hollen. [applause] >> thank you, nicole. it's great to be with all of you today to blow the whistle on the

trump republican tax scam. because of the american peoples instincts on this bill were exactly right when they knew from the beginning that this thing stunk and the reality is, despite the fact that the koch brothers have now spent more than $100 million trying to persuade the american public that they were wrong and that this is a great deal, the american public is not buying it. did you see the "wall street journal" nbc poll the other day? only 27% of the country think that this trump republican tax plan is good for the country and good for their families. i will tell you for something that is presented as a big tax cut plan, that is a very, very low number. so the american people are on to what's happening. they are on to the fact that this tax bill borrows $2

trillion, and and that's not my number. that's the nonpartisan congressional budget office number, borrows $2 trillion from from themselves and their families, bills that they're going to have to pay. they run to the fact that this tax bill actually increases taxes on millions of middle-class families, even though it was sold as a complete middle-class tax cut. they're on to the fact that all that money, through borrowing and raising taxes on the middle class, is going overwhelmingly to big corporations and very wealthy americans here so millionaires, millionaires get an average of a $70,000 a year tax cut under this plan. that is not what the country needed. that's not what the voters are looking for. we also know that donald trump and his family are going to get a huge windfall from this tax cut. of course we don't know exactly how much because he has refused

to do what every other president in recent times is done and tell the working people what his taxes are. so the reality is he's feathering his own nest when you sign that tax bill. he just won't tell you how much of a nest egg he put aside for himself and his family. now, , corporations in additiono very wealthy individuals, corporations are getting a huge windfall. and what did they say they were going to do with that money? they said they're going to give workers a $4000 pay increase, a pay increase in the base, that's $40,000 over ten years. instead they had used just since january 1, $250 billion of that for stock buybacks. so who does that go to? that coaster ceos. that goes to the executive. that goes to stockholders. in fact, they had spent 37 times more on stock buybacks meant on the one-time bonuses and other

things they give to their employees which is the opposite of what they promise. now here's something a boy needs to know. those stockholders -- everybody needs to know. reply% of the stockholders are actually foreign stockholders. do you remember when the prime minister of the president of norway was here many months ago and thank donald trump, turn to him and thank donald trump for that tax cut? that's because either she or the sovereign wealth fund of norway got a big tax break. and the reality is just last week, and i want everyone to get this information out, the congressional budget office in a report to congress found that when this bill fully kicks in in 2028, if you look at the additional economic activity from the tax break and you look at that income, well over half of the additional income does not go into the pockets of american workers. it goes into the pockets of people overseas. [booing]

i don't know how that is america first, but it's putting foreign stockholders first. that's not what we bargained for. we need to get the word out and keep getting the word out, the american peoples instincts were right. let's not let the koch brothers spending hundreds of millions of dollars some of persuade people that what they know to be the truth is not real. so thank you for being here today. thank you for blowing the whistle. let's keep up the pressure. [applause] [chanting] stop the taxes. stop the taxes. >> so one of the news stories lately has been teachers striking in places like kansas, oklahoma, west virginia. the teachers to educate our children who often by their own school supplies and are ending up getting screwed by this tax plan, so what brings me great pleasure to bring to the stage

of former public school teacher herself and now president of the american federation of teachers, randi weingarten. [applause] >> so, you know, it's pretty chilly today on tax day. shouldn't be this chilly in washington today, but i think it's chilly because it is a chilly reaction by the american people to the trump tax cuts for the rich. [applause] and, you know, it is great to see the line up here of the brave democratic senators and congresspeople who actually spoke truth to power when this bill was being passed, and everything they said then was asked to today as it was a few

months ago. [applause] and how do we know that? because we see what's happening in the economy, and we see the choices that people like retiring speaker paul ryan are saying. what do i mean by this? when cnbc tells you that 83% of the benefits of the top tax bill went to and goes to the top 1%, believe them. that's not fake news. and what is happening instead? what's happening instead is that both on the federal level and state after state after state like kansas, like oklahoma, like west virginia, have gotten into this thinking, that if they do tax cuts for the rich it will create a boom in the economy. what it is that is greater a bust which is why in oklahoma they have the money for schools.

west virginia they have the mice for schools. and speaker ryan has already said that the way they're going to pay for it is cutting the things that americans really did come social security, medicaid, medicare and, and the things that we need to do like fixing bridges, fixing our titles and money for schools. is that what the american people want? is that what the american people want? >> no. >> and you know something, the american people are not fooled by this. the polls that you see just in the "wall street journal" yesterday, we've seen them in a recent poll. they get that this tax cut did go to them, didn't go to denver with the people who already had enough funding. and they also get that what is going to be lost are the things that real people need. so last thing i'll say is this. today is tax day. the next day that's really,

really, really important is a little tuesday in november. the way in which we respond is to bow out the people who did this and vote in people who will change of this. [applause] [chanting] vote them out. vote them out. vote them out. [chanting] >> thank you. i've had the pleasure of traveling the country over the past few months with our next speaker. he is somebody who has stood up time and time again for working families, and he will not give up fighting for all of us. that man is senator bernie sanders. [cheers and applause] >> let me thank you all for coming out. the issue that we're dealing

with today is the issue of national priorities, is the issue of what kind of country we are and what kind of country we want to be. the issue is whether we are satisfied that three people in this country today own more wealth than the bottom half of america. the issue is whether we are satisfied that we have the highest rate of childhood poverty almost any major country on earth, and the gap between the very, very rich and the middle class is growing wider and wider. the issue that we are dealing with is whether we are content to have a country in which 30 million people have no health insurance, even more are underinsured and we pay the highest prices in the world for

prescription drugs. that's the issue we are dealing with. what this bill is about is giving 83% of the tax breaks to the top 1% at the end of ten years, and then coming back to the american people and saying the deficit is so high that we've got to cut social security, medicare, medicaid and education. so our job is not only to repeal the tax breaks that went to the large corporations and to the wealthy. our job is to transform our national priorities. our job is to say that instead of giving tax breaks to billionaires, we're going to raise the amount of money that seniors on social security get. our job is to say that instead of allowing corporations to

place their money in the cayman islands and not pay a nickel in federal taxes, were going to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and make sure that every kid in this country, regardless of income, can get the college education that he or she needs. [applause] so of all of the absurd things that a the right wing republicn leadership has done, i would say this ranks close to the top. the idea that when we have massive income and wealth inequality, they want to give tax breaks to billionaires and then cut programs that the middle class, that the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor need is morally reprehensible. and you know what? they are not going to get away with that because the american people are catching on. we're going to vote them out in november. going to transform, we're going

to transform our national priorities. we're going to make this institution start working for the working families of this country, not just the 1%. thank you all for what you are doing. [applause] [chanting] stop the taxes. >> thank you, senator sanders. next were going to hear from representative lloyd doggett. he's from texas and he served in the house since 1995 and is also the ranking member on the house subcommittee on tax policies. please welcome representative doggett. [applause] >> its tax day for everybody here, for millions of americans across the country lining up, getting their taxes paid. they are paying their fair share of the cost of having the greatest democracy in the world for our national security and our domestic security. but you know these trump

republicans for some of those at the top, for some of our largest multinational corporations, a converted tax day into tax break day. and for the it's the type of jubilation up on wall street as they prepare for report of all these great earnings as as a rt of not paying their fair share for the same national security that you are paying a fair share of. they disguise this tax relief for working families, something that 83% at the end of this decade will go to those in the top 1%. those are the people that at the time will be earning almost $1 million each year, and they get the bonanza. just a few minutes ago in front of our committee over here in the longworth building we had trump's treasury secretary. unlike all those trumpettes they are all out boasting a brag about how great this tax bill is. he talked about the many people that already gotten a bonus.

but when i started doing the calculations, using his numbers, it comes out to about 97.5% of americans who haven't gotten a dime a bonus. of course as people up at the top if you're a ceo and, of course, if your ceo you are already doing fairly well. you get paid 235 times what the average worker gets paid on the average. but if you're a ceo you probably got one of those bonuses. but most people didn't get anything and we're going to hear from someone in just a little bit who got a little bonus and then the big outsourcing of his job so he got laid off because of the outsourcing that is in this bill. what about that promise from trump that we're going to get $4000 increase this year and every year in the average family income? has anybody here gotten their $4000 yet? >> no. >> i doubt you've got your $4500 that the treasury secretary

would be forthcoming. no, it's just your typical republican bait and switch where you help those at the top and forget everybody else. of course the real cost that americans will pay from this bill is not what is not in your pocket today but what not might have been a future of america. the outsourcing of jobs, and we legislation to correct that and that is really important to get done. but you also know how we're going to drain resources from this bill from where we need to be investing, and that's investing in the american people. the little provision that they snuck in in a conference committee without any discussion before hand provided a tax break just for those at the top that neither the house nor the senate had previously proposed. and that tax bill and its cost alone will be about the same amount as what trump proposes to cut in his budget from the

entire education financing. as with so many other places if this bill stays in effect and we don't make changes in it, it will have a big negative impact on our economy, , on our competitiveness and our ability to grow. you might say to mr. trump, you keep this in place and it will be not only you who has a stormy problem, but a stormy american future. let's reverse it. thank you. [cheers and applause] [chanting] stop the tax scam. >> over the last few months we have been touring the country holding trump tax town halls and teach ins, talky people but but what's in the bill and why it's not going to help them. and one of the congressional representatives that we had the pleasure of doing some of these events with is going to come speak to us now. from arizona's third congressional district please

welcome representative raul grijalva. [applause] >> thank you very much, and kind of difficult to follow his last little slogan. i told him that, too. there's a a reckoning coming. let me talk about that because the senators and mr. doggett and the people who follow are going to go as the reasons we are here come the tax scam, that cuts that were passed by the republicans and the benefits that have accrued for people like the the president, $11 min in tax breaks because of this. the koch brothers who spent $100 billion this informant and lying to the american people about what this tax cut myth md what that tax scam it to them and laying a false picture out. a billion dollars.

that's what they looking for this, , and the list goes on. that 1% acquiring 83% of the benefit from these tax cuts. that's not america. and the reckoning is coming because america sees through this, through the cloud, , throh the lies and to the disinformation. and what they see is that there is no fairness, and what they see is that has to be a change, and november is coming and that's the reckoning. the reckoning to make a fair -- [chanting] -- that takes care of working people and that invests, invests in the children of this country, that invests in making sure that our educators and teachers are paid unlivable, sustainable wage when they're in that classroom teaching our children. to invest in social security and not to use this tax cut as an

excuse to decimate programs that the american people rely on. that is what the american people know, and the reckoning is coming. and the opportunity for new leadership to take this tax scam, not only revisit it but repeal the portion of that, if not all, and begin a new with a tax reform that implies not by just language but in explicit about the idea of reform, reform, everybody paying their fair share, investing in the american people and taking this country where we are right now to where we need to be consistent with our values. fair, honest, transparent and for the general public good. thank you very much. [applause].

[chanting] vote them out. >> our next speaker is a new yorkers i don't think he's going to minsk ii many words. please welcome the chairman of the house democratic caucus, representative joe crowley. >> i want to thank everyone for being here this chilly, chilly spring day. fired up and ready to go. [applause] you know, trump's billionaires first tax scam, the '40s, a tax scam, not not a tax cut. a tax scam. it does nothing to help working men and women in this country. it is the greatest bait and switch i've seen in my years here in washington. he promised to help working men and women. he lied. he promised that he would have a better way. he lied. not unusual about this

president. the overwhelming benefits towards the wealthiest 1% in our nation, and the wealthiest corporations in the history of the world. they got a tax break and a permanent tax break. the biggest bait and switch in the history of our country. we simply cannot stand by and allow it to rest. republican caucus needs to announce that it will repeal and replace this bill. this is the bill that needs to be repealed and replaced. they are focused on healthcare. repeal this bill, my republican colleagues here i. i chair of the ways and means committee and i heard one of my colleagues talk about the fact he is doing a lot of soul-searching after he voted for this tax scam. doing a lot of soul-searching. you know, this is a pretense,

untold doctor simone, sister simone, sister simone is here and i suppose, sister, we have assumed people think that they may have souls but they didn't demonstrate it when it passed this bill. because what this is all a setup for his so they can go after social security, medicare and medicaid. that's the center. that's what this is all about. and we are not going to let him do that because we have children. we had veterans. we have students. we have working families that need a real break. and this bill does not deliver on that. so we're not going to rest, and when we take back the house we will repeal and replace this bill. thank you all. [applause] [chanting] vote them out. vote them out.

>> sister simone is, in fact, here. i think she just got another degree added to her name. that's fine, that's fine. she deserves it. this is a tireless advocate on behalf of those who do not have a voice. not only -- she is executive director of network and is a social justice warrior. please welcome my friend sister simone campbell. [applause] >> what an honor to be here on a day that i wished was more happier day, a day of joy, and they of feeling like we are contributing to the common good as we pay our taxes. as i paid my i looked at it and i said what happened to the common good?

why aren't we paying taxes saying we believe in education? why aren't we paying our taxes saying we're committed to those who are left out. why are we not paying our taxes saying we are committed to highways and infrastructure and caring for our planet and to all of the things we care about for our nation and for our world? this tax policy is bad policy, is bait and switch. it's a scam. .. i am sorry but pope francis has made it abundantly clear last week that holiness,

faith, engagement in the faith journey requires the commitment to the common good, not to the individual good only. i stand appear saying i am calling on a few people to act in a holy fashion. isn't that a radical tax? be holy. be holy and care for the common good. be holy and care for each other. be holy and insist that everyone in our blood nation, the richest nation on earth, has access to health care and access to quality education, has access to affordable quality broadband service in our nation because everyone needs to be connected. so, we at network are standing with you all to say we can do this. i learned something about the fight during the fight for the affordable care act protecting

it. you can keep fighting after even something as fast. i learned that you can keep [inaudible] away and in the end what we learned in the healthcare fight was that the need of the people do triumph. [cheering and applause] let us stand together and fight for what the common good and ensure that we have a reasonable revenue to pay for our amazingly responsible programs and care for our entire nation not just those who think they are in charge. thank you. [cheering and applause] stop the tax bill. >> one of the things sister simona brought up in healthcare and one of the objectives of this tax bill is to attack the american access to affordable care and affordable health

insurance. it gives me so much honor to bring our next speaker to the stage and she is the woman responsible for the affordable care act and the first and only woman ever to be speaker of the house and dare i say she will not be the last. please welcome representative nancy pelosi. [cheering and applause] >> good afternoon everyone. it is now afternoon and i am honored to be here with each and every one of you because i see many familiar faces. bases that were there a year ago and we all came together across the country in many places to ask for the president to release his tax returns. a year later still has not happened but in the course of that time all of you and so many of you here and certainly some of us under the leadership of

nicole gill. let's hear it for nicole. [cheering and applause] they have been having advanced across the country and so many of us came together to affect the affordable care act and then when i got to be winter and we had to fight their tax scam, their tax scam, they won the vote but they did not win the hearts and minds of the american people. why? because of all of you whether it was our friends in the labor movement or advocates for healthcare across the country nicole and her tribe of people across the country right now they said it's a political loser in the public does not believe that it is in their interests and that is because of all of you. it's a scam. why is it a scam? look at this. they put forth a tax bill that gives 83% of the benefits to the top 1%.

they tried to call it a middle-class tax cut and yet 86 million middle-class families will be paying more taxes. they cause giving corporate america a trillion and a half dollar tax break, tax cut and plus interest taking over $2 billion further into debt and mortgaging our children's future placing a dark cloud over -- over a dark cloud of this capital and over our budget so then they say well, we have to make cuts because we have increased the debt and so we will take a trillion dollars at a medicaid and isn't that obscene? half a trillion dollars out of medicare and this was heather -- heather knows this when her tax cuts for the rich corporations while they take a half a

trillion dollars out of medicare. this is consistent with them because they have said medicare should wither on the vine. they have had in their budget that medicare should eliminate the guarantee and instead of be a voucher. that is what they are saying and further in that budget trillion medicaid cuts half a trillion for medicare and then they go on to take a couple hundred billion dollars from food stamps. hundred trillion dollars from education hurting their children and future. sister small talked about pope francis. i will talk about pope benedict. he quotes, his favorite saint, in god's love and he quotes benedict augustine 17 centuries

ago, 1700 years ago augustine said any government that does not exist to promote justice is just a bunch of thieves. seventeen centuries ago. benedict goes on to say sometimes the challenge to define us but in doing so we must be aware of the dazzling blindness of special interest money and power. is that today? what we need is the american people to know and that is what you are doing. a drumbeat across america to say this is not about our values but a budget is supposed to be [inaudible] what is important to us as a nation should be how we invest in our children's future and in the retirement of our seniors in the air our kids breathe in and the opportunities

and the economy to be fair. fairness. that is not what this budget is. it's a shame and wrong and we cannot let it stand. we won't let it stand. we won't let it stand. we won't let it stand. we won't let it stand. you all very much for what you're doing to make sure it doesn't stand. not only that the tax cut but also the budget that they had proposed that is so lacking in value. thank you all again. to all of the supporters here and to nicole gill and not 1 penny. i love her very much. [cheering and applause] >> let's give it up for leader pelosi.

our next speaker will take a little different track and we will welcome somebody who doesn't serve in congress but serves his family as a father and husband and takes care of his children, one of whom who has a congenital heart defect requires an extensive amount of medication and surgical procedures it is now thriving but he will talk to us about what these cuts to medicaid, medicare and the cost of drugs me to him and his family. please welcome from arizona, steve gomez. [applause] >> good afternoon. my son, anthony, was born in september 2015 with a condition known as transition of the greater arteries. a procedure was performed two

weeks after he was born but it was unsuccessful and he had to be listed for a heart transfer. four weeks later at six weeks old we were notified that another family had been strong enough to get our little boy another chance at life. he spent the next 12 hours in the or receiving his new heart. transplant was successful and it was like things were turning around for our little man. however, as a side effect of the life-support you found while awaiting transplant he suffered had undergo invitations to stand in feet. through all this anthony has remained amazingly happy, almost annoyingly happy and energetic. he loves playing and rappelling with me and his older brother and mom and is on his way to walking and running everywhere. [cheering and applause] however, our routine revolves around his follow-up appointments and especially

education schedule. we first came home from hospital he had 14 medications that totaled 31 dosages throughout all hours of the day and night. fortunately we are now down to seven medications and 11 dosages but most of these will be likely for the rest of his life. last year alone we spent well over $3000 out-of-pocket on prescription medication for anthony and the only reason it was so low was because we readily met our deductible early in the year thanks to multiple er visits. this year the same vote regard for deductible and on track to spend even more on prescription drugs. while the insurance carriers are not without their part in this i think of you to blame should be shouldered by the pharmaceutical companies and the benefits they receive sense top tax was passed. tax scam benefited while the

corporations immensely and the drug companies probably more than most. the big pharmaceutical companies have announced massive bonuses and payouts to shareholders and executives since the trump tax plan has passed and that is unacceptable. not a single one of these companies use that tax cut to lower drug prices for families like ours for the proving awarding the wealthy does not trickle down to the average family. the companies have announced increases any exceeding their so-called social contract of no more than 10%. the trump tax plan not only provides massive benefits to corporations like trump and the large pharmaceutical companies and doing all of this will stripping away healthcare from american families. by repealing the individual mandate and the aca millions of americans are denied access to affordable healthcare. in addition, the cbo has stated that premium increases as a

result of trump tax will most likely be at a rate of 10% annually for many years to come. this plan was pushed through and planned in secrecy under the guise it would help american families but it is no secret now that is set up for wealthy corporations worldwide. according to the center for responsive politics 90 members of the house and senate seat contributions of over $100,000 pharmaceuticals or help product companies. the gop and trump lied to all of us who said this will help american families struggling with healthcare costs. while these corporations get richer they are leaving kids like mine behind. this scam needs to be stopped. [cheering and applause] stopped the scam. stop the scam. stop the scam.

stop the scam. >> our next speaker is representative jamie raskin from right here in maryland. [cheering and applause] >> hello. hello tax march anyone here from the congressional district in maryland? all right. welcome. welcome to my constituent who you are about to hear from. he wouldn't show us his taxes but he showed us his tax policy and it is a nightmare for america. probably almost as much as a nightmare for the taxes but we don't know. he's broken from a half century of precedent by not exposing his taxes to the american people but we will work on that one, too. will make that happen but their

tax bill last year was hr one and that was a good indication for it because it was a bill for the top 1% of the american people. now it's the law of the land. there tax ripoff in their tax scam and hr 1% outed $2.3 billion to the national debt which is now the excuse and their pretext for trying to shred the care and medicaid and social security. are you going to lie down and let the gop and these big corporations roll all over you? that is the question today. we will not do it. under their tax plans nearly 13 million americans will lose healthcare coverage including people on medicaid and on employer plans and on the individual market and the health care premiums will jump up dramatically for everybody else in the country.

they say the only to certain things in life are death and taxes in the trump administration wants to combine them together. they said they will drain the swamp but they moved into the swamp and drained the treasury instead. [cheering and applause] 83% of the benefit of their tax scam goes to the top 1% of people and 86 million real american families are getting soft with a cap increase because of their policy. so, our job is to go out and tell the people and then vote out. >> vote them out. vote them out. vote them out. vote them out. >> thank you, congressman. i am so excited about our next speaker. she is very familiar to many of

you who have been fighting against the repeal of the affordable care act and her name is alayna hung. she is the cochair of the healthcare voter campaign and she is the cofounder and copresident of little lobbyists, an organization that advocates for children with complex medical needs including her own daughter, the amara. please welcome them to the stage. >> hello everybody. thank you very much. i am not that tall. i am alayna and i am a mom and i am here with my amazing daughter. i am here on behalf of families like mine the little lobbyists and families with children with complex medical needs. we have been coming to capitol

hill fighting for our kids to make sure that they have the health care they need to survive and thrive. and the tax bill that this congress just passed threatens all of that. those who voted for this tax bill gave trillions in tax cuts to the wealthy. he voted to add $1.8 trillion to the national debt and we know, we know how they will try to pay off this debt. they told us. they are coming after medicaid. so, i am here, i am here because i believe that members of congress need to hear the story and see the faces of those affected by their votes.

there are millions affected by their votes. this is my story. three and a half years ago i had a great pregnancy and an amazing birth and 15 minutes after she was born my daughter who was rushed to the nicu where she remained for the next five months. the next 169 days to be exact. since then she has seen over a dozen specialists and had countless medical procedures and she uses a tracheostomy and a ventilator to breathe and a feeding tube for all of her nutrition. but i am thrilled to tell you that she is driving today. she is alive and driving today because of the amazing medical care he has received and she is alive and thriving today and in great part because of medicaid

and medicaid paid for her therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy for speech therapy for feeding therapy and medicaid and played for the special education programs that she attends at the local public school. medicaid pays for the services and support in the community so children like her can live at home with their families and not in institutions far, far away. medicaid helps children with complex medical needs survive and thrive. medicaid helps their families survive. medicaid helps moms like me sleep better at night knowing that our government is watching out for our babies. i am here to say thank you, medicaid. and i am here to say not 1 penny for corporations and the wealthy

at the expense of our children's future. and i am here to say i am a healthcare voter. [cheering and applause] and families with children with complex medical needs and healthcare voters and families who rely on medicaid our healthcare voters and do we have any healthcare voters here today? [cheering and applause] i'm here to say members of congress, make no mistake when you come after our kids healthcare voters are coming after you. [cheering and applause] thank you. >> vote them out. vote them out. vote them out. vote them out. >> thank you alayna. she is waving goodbye.

our next speaker is from california where i hope it is warmer there than it is here today. please welcome representative mark. >> thank you alayna for that and for sharing your story. and thank you all for coming out to this warm spring day. [laughter] today we are speaking out not just for ourselves but for the millions of americans all across this country who no a scam when they see one on that. let's be clear. the gop tax bill is a scam. when nearly $2 trillion tax cut gets 80% of the benefits to the wealthiest 1% of americans that is a scam. when a tax cut for corporations

takes priority over investing in our schools and rebuilding our infrastructure or making healthcare more affordable for the middle class and families that is a scam. and when americans say that we can afford a and one republican say we can afford at tin a tax t for the rich but can't afford medicare or medicaid or social security that is a scam. not only is it a scam but it is a total moral failure. here is why. we have a wonderful caregiver in thibenefit program that supports families of disabled veterans who need round-the-clock care. the program is grounded in the ideas these families should only worry about caring for the wounded warrior. they should not have to worry about monthly bills stocking up or keeping food on the table. this program is only available

to post- 911 veterans. as a member of the house veterans affairs committee i have been fighting to make caregiver benefits to all veterans of every generation. the cost of doing that is $4 billion over five years. i have been told that that is too expensive. the cost of the republican corporate tax cut is $1.3 trillion so we can give $1.3 trillion to corporations but we can't give $4 billion to veteran caregivers? is there any morality in that? listen to this. a good education is key to a successful future. do you agree? well, the new house republican higher education bill cuts

$15 million from federal financial aid that makes college affordable for low income students. so, $1.3 trillion more for corporations and a $15 billion cut for low income students and is there any more morality in that? republicans want veterans and students to pay for a corporate tax cut. but even more than that here is what they really want. they want us to forget. in the coming weeks, months and years when they say we can't afford funding or we can't afford funding for medicare they want us to forget that they passed a massive tax cut for the wealthy 1%. when they say we can afford to keep putting medicaid they want us to forget that they gave their donors a trillion dollars in tax cuts. and when they say we can't afford social security a program that all of you paid for they

want us to forget their tax scam. so, will we forget? will we forget? will be forget? that is right. we will not forget and we will hold them accountable. thank you. [cheering and applause] vote them out. >> thank you representative. let's give one more round of applause. [cheering and applause] our next speaker is a fellow member of little lobbyists and is also a healthcare voter. she is also an educator and stands up for the rights of her fellow teachers and fight for the rights of her son who have complex medical needs. please welcome kristi.

[cheering and applause] >> hello. my name is kristi and i was it was just mentioned and i'm a lobbyist. i'm a healthcare voter and a teacher. most importantly i am the mother of a nine -year-old son with very complex medical needs. at this moment or the moment ethan was born my entire world change. ethan has an orphan disease called congenital and neuromuscular disease. you most likely never heard of it but that's okay. neither had the doctors. he was additionally misdiagnosed and moments after he was born while in the recovery room for the emergency c-section we were told that even when not survive. fortunately that diagnosis was incorrect and ethan is now nine years old. ethan is a third grader and he's a happy, healthy little boy who

lives with a gastric tube which help supplement his nutritional needs and also has a tracheostomy and uses a mechanical ventilation a night. he uses a walker to access his typical third-grade classroom and is in a student when it comes to spelling and he's an average little boy but the way he is gone here is access to medical care. this tax bill is threatening my sons access to care and i can't be silent. even when he is able to do everything he does museums, horseback riding and attend school like any other nine -year-old boy but it's because of his access to medicaid and private health insurance. the only way he can attend school safely is with a nurse. who is trained to care and respond for his medical emergencies with a tracheostomy. private health insurance will not cover that cost.

he is able to attend a physical and occupational therapy because medicaid helps with the co-pays. he is a wheelchair and a walker because medicaid helps with the co-pay. he is medically complex but because of his access to medicaid as a result of the program he has a very difficult nine -year-old boy. he is probably returning to his classroom from lunch right at this very moment and we rest during recess today because he has pt after and before school. the cot he rests on was purchased by his first grade teacher. she also bought him a blanket and pillow. she and it was the sweetest thing. it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. they love him. they wanted him to feel like any other third grader and any other first grader in the classroom. she and the second grade teacher worked tirelessly to ensure that every activity in the classroom was accessible to ethan. that is a challenge because he

is physically limited. it wasn't a question of will he be able to participate but how will we modify the activities. these teachers go above and beyond and as a result of that i stand with them as they fight to ensure a living wage so they too can take care of their families. [cheering and applause] it is we are fortunate to have amazing teachers and with a short drive across street lines from west virginia into virginia or maryland they are able to make a higher wage but they choose to stay within their communities and take care of my child and all the children that are living in our community. as a result of that where our local teachers to part in an nine date work stoppage i stood with them. in a state where education is in a crisis it is medicaid that

helps offset the cost for schools to provide the services that are necessary for my son ethan or for children like lip the little girl. providing them services and make sure that other children are not being denied anything. without access to medicaid i would not be able to work. and contribute to my local economy. the cost of his medicare which shifts from our private and access to care is essential. it cuts to medicaid will endanger or take away that access. medicaid is so important to my life and my son's life that the new tax law that we are here protesting puts medicaid at risk. earlier this year i stood with the teacher striking in west virginia and for the majority of his life i stand by my son to defend his health care for the moment he was born the eight

months he lived in the hospital and every day since and now i have to stand and defend my son against the lawmakers who are trying to take away his access to care and the access that guarantees a normal life. ethan is one of just 564,000 west virginians that depend on medicaid or chip in west virginia. without access all of those lives are at risk. medical emergencies and terminal illnesses are better treated early and prevented. let's face it. no one schedules cancer or a heart attack and my family did not sign up for a rare disease. there's nothing we could have done to prevent it but even deserves to have the best possible life and with medicaid he has that opportunity. thank you. [cheering and applause]

vote him out. vote him out. >> thank you, kristi. that was such a powerful story. i also want to give a shout out to all the teachers out there in west virginia and beyond. [cheering and applause] our next speaker is from minnesota. minnesota's fifth congressional district and you may know him as the deputy chair of the democratic national committee. please welcome representativ the representative. >> the senate was in it recess so they could attend a briefing on the conflict on syria. they return to session right now. live coverage on c-span2.