Sponsored by: Scott Mills, Democratic Party of Oregon Labor Caucus Approved: 08/12/2018
A RESOLUTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON
WHEREAS, all workers have paid the withholding tax for Social Security which prefunds the expected increase in funds needed to meet the retirement needs in the future; and
WHEREAS, the House Concurrent Resolution 128 – Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2019 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2020 through 2028 – calls for reducing the expenditures for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and
WHEREAS, the House Concurrent Resolution 128 calls for the repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and
WHEREAS, these cuts will impact the 54 million people on Social Security, 44 million on Medicare and 73 million on Medicaid today and all Americans relying on these social programs in the future, and
WHEREAS, these cuts are rationalized by the conservative Republicans to offset the nearly 2 trillion in additional debt as a result of the reduction in revenues from the Tax Reform Bill passed and signed into law by Donald Trump, and
WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Oregon has long supported the safety net provided by these programs along with the organized unions of the Labor Caucus, and
WHEREAS, the organized labor movement has the power to turn the situation around and to stop the corporate onslaught in its tracks by demanding “Hands Off Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid!” by organizing and immediately implementing a fightback campaign on a scope and magnitude that surpasses anything the Democratic Party of Oregon (DPO) has done in the past several decades, and
WHEREAS, Article 1, Section 4 of the 2018 Democratic Party of Oregon Platform recommends DPO policy to preserve and protect social security, and
WHEREAS, We affirm our Democratic Party of Oregon 2018 Priority Legislative Action Item to work towards improved and expanded medicare for all as the resolution to our broken healthcare system, and we reaffirm healthcare as a human right.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: The DPO stands in opposition to any parts of the House Concurrent Resolution 128 which result in cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Section 2: The DPO Labor Caucus will engage as partners the AFL-CIO, NEA, AFT, SEIU, and other independent unions to issue a statement declaring their rejection of any and all proposals to cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid and repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Section 3: The DPO Labor Caucus will encourage other state Democratic Parties and members of the above named labor unions to organize an emergency march on Washington with the goal being to preclude enactment of the cuts to or privatization of Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security and repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
