In the News

Milwaukee Community Journal

In response to President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday, Wisconsin Cong. Gwen Moore has introduced a bill blocking the president from using taxpayer dollars to construct a border wall.

“My constituents don’t want a wall,” the congresswoman said Wednesday in a press statement about her legislation. “They want effective border security, to feel safe at home and to know their hard-earned tax dollars are used responsibly.”

Called the “No Taxpayer Funding for the Wall Act,” the legislation blocks Trump from executing what she called his “reckless plan” and force him to honor his pledge—which he made throughout his 2016 presidential campaign— that Mexico fund the building of the wall.

During his speech, Trump renewed his demand for a border wall in a section of his speech devoted to immigration. “I call on both Democrats and Republicans to join me in my effort by supporting this common sense legislation to protect the American public’s tax dollars. We must pass this bill to ensure that President Trump can no longer hold the American people hostage.

“Protecting hard-earned dollars from wasteful spending is just common sense,” the congresswoman added. “It’s time for the GOP to get on board.” Moore said the president used the “bully pulpit” the SOTU offers the chief executive officer of the United States to “spread lies and instill fear in the hearts of the American public by painting immigrants and asylum seekers as criminals—murderers determined to take down the law-abiding residents of the United States.

“We must rise above these racist lies and see his words for what they are: a manufactured crisis, designed to scare the public into submission and garner support for his wall.”

It was the Democratic controlled Congress’ rejection of Trump’s wall demand that lead to the president shutting down the federal government for 35 days. The historic shut down impacted not only hundreds of thousands of federal workers, but impacted the quality of life for millions of Americans as it related to federal transportation (airport security and air traffic control), parks, judiciary, and small businesses that cater or are contracted to provide services to federal government entities.

Trump’s government shutdown was also noted by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams in her Democratic response to Trumps SOTU address. Touted as a rising star in the Democratic Party, Abrams, who lost a hard-fought and controversial race for Georgia governor during midterm elections, called Trump’s government shutdown a “disgrace” and a “stunt” the president engineered that “defied every tenet of fairness and abandoned not just our people—but our values.”

Standing in front of a racially diverse group of people, Abrams—whose SOTU response is the first ever delivered by a Black woman—also spoke on issues Trump didn’t mention at all in his speech: mass shootings, LGBTQ support and voter suppression. She lost her governor’s race by two points in the face of suspected voter suppression by her opponents’ administration.

“Just a few weeks ago, I joined volunteers to distribute meals to furloughed federal workers. They waited in line for a box of food and a sliver of hope since they hadn’t received a paycheck in weeks,” Abrams said. “Making their livelihoods a pawn for political games is a disgrace.”

In Georgia and around the country, people are striving for a middle class where a salary truly equals economic security. But instead, families’ hopes are being crushed by Republican leadership that ignores real life or just doesn’t understand it.”

Interestingly, Abrams stressed she didn’t want Trump to fail, but to change his leadership approach. “We may come from different sides of the political aisle, but our joint commitment to the ideals of this nation cannot be negotiable”

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