Archives: Ad Checks

Spooooky Sanders Questions: Swamp Edition

It must be truly frightening in the swamp that is the Trump White House. From wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on furniture and travel, to letting Wall Street trample over veterans, to giving Russia a pass on sanctions- Donald Trump has shown himself to be the Swamp President. *cue screams*

American Bridge Rapid Response Director Emily Aden calls on White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to answer the following questions:

1. How did President Trump spend $1.75 million in taxpayer dollars on furniture and decorating costs for the White House but can’t spare a dime to address the opioid crisis?

2. What sexual harassment training do White House staffers go through? Does the President support legislation introduced by Reps. Jackie Speier and Brenda Lawrence to improve how sexual harassment complaints are handled in Congress?

3. Why did the White House miss a key October 1st deadline to implement sanctions against Russia? Was it […]

Read more after the jump.

Trump’s sabotage of Obamacare is driving premiums up by as much as 38%

This morning, a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation determined that Donald Trump’s executive order cutting-off payment of Affordable Care Act (ACA) funding that helps keep out-of-pocket healthcare costs for working Americans low is driving up premiums on the ACA marketplaces by as much as 38%. This reinforces a similar report by the private healthcare analysis firm Avalere from earlier in the week, which found that Trump’s abrupt ending of these payments is raising premiums on the exchanges by 34% on average.

“Donald Trump promised to make healthcare cheaper, but his sabotage of the Affordable Care Act is exploding premiums by as much as 38%,” said American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates. “How much longer will Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress force families to bear the skyrocketing costs of their spiteful actions to wreck the law they failed to repeal?  Middle class Americans can’t afford the consequences of their behavior. It’s […]

Read more after the jump.

BREAKING: Companies not planning to create jobs with Trump’s corporate tax cuts

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates released the following statement after a Reuters report found that U.S. companies are already planning to use the tax cuts in the proposal that Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are writing behind closed doors in order to benefit shareholders instead of create new jobs, as Trump has promised. 

“The tax plan that Donald Trump and Republicans are writing behind closed doors puts the middle class and American workers dead last. Their tax proposal is a giveaway to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations at the expense of everyone else, and now the rug has been pulled-out from underneath the disingenuous arguments being made by the White House.”

Reuters: CEOs suggest Trump tax cut may lift investors more than jobs
Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is selling tax reform to Americans on the promise it will create extra income for companies to invest in […]

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WATCH: White House Inches Closer to Axing 401(k) Tax Benefits For Middle Class Families

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates released the following statement after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders appeared on Fox News and repeatedly failed to say whether Americans’ 401(k) tax benefits were negotiable or not.

“This is an alarming dodge from the White House on a simple question – is Donald Trump going to break his promise on 401(k) tax benefits that middle class families count on for retirement savings or not? The backwards tax plan that Trump and Republicans are developing behind closed doors would already raise taxes on millions of middle class familieswhile giving 80% of its breaks to the richest 1% of taxpayers.  This is not a game – Donald Trump and Sarah Huckabee Sanders need to come clean if they are planning to ax a key retirement planning tax deduction.”

On October 23, President Trump pledged to the American people that there would be […]

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Donald Trump Lied When He Promised To Combat The Opioid Crisis

Despite promising repeatedly over the past 77 days to declare the opioid crisis a national emergency, Donald Trump is again failing to deliver today. Declaring a national emergency would have made additional funding and resources available to the federal and state governments to fight the opioid crisis.  Instead, Trump is announcing a narrower set of bureaucratic changes with no additional funding.  

“More than  6,000 Americans  have died from opioid overdoses during the 77 days since Donald Trump pledged to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency,” said American Bridge Vice President Shripal Shah.  “The President has made it to the golf course nearly every weekend during those 77 days, but hasn’t found time to deliver on his promise to mobilize resources at the state and federal level to prevent further deaths.  Ten months in, Trump’s administration is a disgraceful series of broken promises on nearly every topic.” 

This latest stall by the […]

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As Trump’s Tax Plan Threatens 401k Benefits, New Poll Shows GOP Tax Scheme Is Already Unpopular With Americans

A new AP-NORC poll shows the majority of Americans believe the tax plan Trump and Congressional Republicans are writing behind closed doors would help corporations and the wealthiest taxpayers over the middle class. The poll was released at the same time that House Ways & Means Chairman Kevin Brady, the top Republican in the House for tax policy, indicated the 401k tax benefits millions of middle class Americans count on may be jeopardized by Trump’s tax plan.

“Just like with the failed Trumpcare bills that would have cost millions their insurance, the American people are seeing through Trump’s lies about the Republican tax plan,” said American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates. “Trump’s proposal would sell-out middle class families and American workers as part of the real ‘lovefest’ that’s been going on since Donald Trump took office – between Republicans, their donors, and corporations.”

SHOT:

Washington Post, 10/25/2017: “House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin […]

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Senate Republicans and Trump Administration Try To Strip Middle Class Consumers of Key ​Economic ​Protection

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates released the following statement regarding Senate Republican efforts to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule prohibiting the use of “forced arbitration,” which has been used to prevent millions of hardworking Americans from accessing their full legal rights after being defrauded:

“Job growth has declined under Donald Trump, premiums are increasing because he’s undermining the ACA, and now Senate Republicans are trying to eliminate a key consumer protection rule that stops Wall Street banks and other financial institutions from denying basic legal rights to victims of fraud. Helping large businesses like Wells Fargo and Equifax avoid responsibility when middle class families are ripped-off is the exact opposite of ‘draining the swamp.’ This is the latest proof that Trump and Republicans are selling-out struggling Americans.”

Wall Street’s top lobbying organization, the banking industry, and payday lenders having been advocating for the Trump Administration […]

Read more after the jump.

Sanders Questions: ‘Liddle Donnie Edition

Senator Bob Corker really hit the nail on the head this morning when he said of President Trump, “the debasement of our nation is what he’ll be most remembered for.” Is it too little, too late? Probably, especially considering the Republican just a few months ago was singing Trump’s praises as he angled for a job in his Cabinet.  But Corker’s honesty is nonetheless welcome at a time when virtually every other Republican in Washington can’t come to grips with the dangers that Trump presents for the country and the world.

As White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders takes the podium today it is important to remember the role that she, and all others in this White House and Congress, play in enabling this debasement of our country, our values, and our standing in the world.

American Bridge Rapid Response Director Emily Aden calls on Sanders to answer the following questions:

1. […]

Read more after the jump.

ICYMI: Extreme Weather, Climate Change Costing Taxpayers Billions

American Bridge Vice President Shripal Shah released the following statement after a GAO report revealed climate change is costing American taxpayers billions of dollars:

“Climate Change is already costing Americans billions of dollars every year and the Trump administration is making things even worse. The White House’s decisions to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, end the Clean Power Plan, censor scientists they disagree with, and potentially even back the EPA away from regulating CO2, will cost Americans even more in the future.  The country is going to be paying the price for Trump’s recklessness for generations.”

NBC News: Extreme Weather, Climate Change Costing Taxpayers Billions
by Alex Seitz-Wald

WASHINGTON — Climate change is costing taxpayers billions of dollars in disaster relief and the tab will only increase as extreme weather events become more common, according to a new government study.

The federal government has spent an estimated $350 billion over the […]

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Five Events Michael Cohen Is Going To Have To Answer For

Donald Trump’s “pitbull” Michael Cohen is meeting with House and Senate Intelligence Committee investigators today and tomorrow behind closed doors about his central role in the Trump-Russia scandal. Cohen is perhaps the figure in Trump’s orbit who most represents the cross-section between the Trump Organization and the Trump campaign’s desire to get closer to Russia.

American Bridge Rapid Response Director Emily Aden stated, “From expanding Trump’s business in Russia during the campaign to drafting a secret plan to lift US sanctions on Russia after Trump won the election, Michael Cohen is at the crux of the Trump-Russia scandal. Congressional investigators–and Special Counsel Robert Mueller–have their work cut out for them.”

Here are five deeply disturbing events that congressional investigators will surely press Michael Cohen on in their meetings:

1. October 28, 2015: Michael Cohen had Donald Trump, already a presidential candidate, sign a Letter of Intent to build Trump Tower Moscow with Moscow-based developer I.C. Expert Investment Co.

2.  Read more after the jump.