The Congressional Progressive Caucus’ 2017 People’s Budget tackles inequality head-on, rewriting the rules of a rigged economy so that corporations pay their fair share and the infrastructure and programs that serve the people are well resourced. This budget is a blueprint for America to boost access to good-paying jobs for all, enable every public college student to graduate free of debt, and support opportunities for women and workers of color to rebuild our communities while protecting the planet.

President Trump and some congressional Republicans’ plans, on the other hand, set America back. Even after the recently approved spending bill, they still want to spend billions building a border wall that divides us, ransacking our environment, and endangering working families’ livelihoods and communities’ economic security.

JOBS

As Trump tries to strip away worker protections, the People’s Budget strengthens working Americans’ chances to get a fair share of the economic prosperity they helped create. The People’s Budget raises the federal minimum wage, updates overtime pay regulations, guarantees basic benefits like paid sick time and paid family leave, and strengthens workers’ rights to join together in unions and bargain collectively for a better deal in the workplace.

DEBT-FREE COLLEGE

The People’s Budget addresses the primary cause of the college affordability crisis—state budget cuts—by creating a federal-state partnership guaranteeing a debt-free pathway for students at public colleges and universities.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The People’s Budget lifts America’s infrastructure into the 21st Century, emphasizing investments in meeting our critical transportation needs, replacing crumbling pipes, and updating our energy grid while increasing real employment opportunities for underemployed workers, particularly women, and workers of color, to rebuild America. President Trump and congressional Republicans’ proposals, in contrast, gift millions of dollars to big banks and corporations to build the projects they choose and hand that bill to working households. 

ENVIRONMENT

The People’s Budget accelerates an American clean energy transition and clean economy transformation, centered on supporting our most environmentally vulnerable communities. The People’s Budget holds corporate polluters more accountable to pay for the mess they’ve created.