Calling on the Pennsylvania Delegation of the United States Congress to reject any joint budget resolution that cuts public services and deepens inequality in our nation by increasing the tax breaks that primarily benefit the highest-income households and to vote against any future tax breaks that solely, or substantially only, benefit wealthy Americans and/or large corporations, which erode the funding available for critical domestic priorities.

WHEREAS, Congress is currently contemplating severe cuts to federal programs including the Medicaid program, the food stamp program, WIC, GEAR-UP, student loans and more; and

WHEREAS, Many of the programs that will receive cuts are proven, effective solutions that make a real difference in improving people’s lives and cuts will damage these programs and cause real harm to the people and communities we serve; and

WHEREAS, Federal budget cuts simply shift the cost of providing essential services to towns, cities, counties and states that our commonwealth and city budgets cannot absorb; and

WHEREAS, Rather than cutting programs, Congress could reduce the deficit by $197 billion over ten years by canceling the 2001 tax cuts that have not been phased in yet; and

WHEREAS, Fifty-four percent of these cuts benefit the top .02 percent of taxpayers -- households with incomes above $1 million and ninety-seven percent would benefit households with incomes over $200,000; and

WHEREAS, While targeted and strategic tax cuts can sometimes make sense these cuts, which by and large are targeted for the wealthy, while strategic and successful programs that significantly assist low income and middle class families are being cut, seems to this Council to be unjust and not the right direction for this City, state and country, now, therefore; be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Calls upon the members of the Pennsylvania Delegation to the United States Congress to reject any joint budget resolution that cuts public services and deepens inequality in our nation by increasing the tax breaks that primarily benefit the highest-income households, and

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the City Council of Philadelphia calls upon the members of the Pennsylvania Delegation to the United States Congress to vote against any future tax breaks that solely, or substantially only, benefit wealthy Americans and/or large corporations, which erode the funding available for critical domestic priorities.

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