KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Democratic National Committee rolled into Kalamazoo Monday afternoon as part of their “Build Back Better” bus tour.
Michigan is one of 10 states on the tour, where prominent Dems are making stops to tout Biden Administration policies they say are helping everyday people recover from the pandemic.
“Democrats in Michigan and across the country are working to make sure that voters know that the ‘D’ in Democrat stands for deliver,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes.
Barnes was joined by local small business owner Nicole Triplett and Jennifer Weaver Stroven of Kalamazoo County Talking Teaching. The trio touted the impact of the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law back in March.
“As a small business owner for over twelve years, I can attest to the American Rescue Plan being critical to the survival for Black-owned businesses like mine,” said Triplett.
"It’s not pennies. This is groceries, this is our car payment, help towards our mortgage, it provides breathing room," Stroven said about the child tax credit payments.
Barnes also championed the Biden Administration’s infrastructure plans as well as the $3.5 trillion budget proposal. Congress is expected to debate the budget bill Dems are pushing for, though the latest developments in Afghanistan could shift congressional focus when lawmakers reconvene in a few weeks.
“First I want to say my heart breaks for the lives that were lost in Afghanistan. President Biden made a pledge to us that he would get us out of Afghanistan and he’s doing that in the smartest way he knows how, and I trust him to do that and I think the American people trust him to do that,” Barnes. “I do expect when folks get back into Washington there will be conversations around [Afghanistan] of course, but the work that needs to get done to support Americans will also need to happen, I think our folks can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Republicans meanwhile are widely opposed to the $3.5 trillion budget proposal, which they call wasteful spending, while also holding concerns about the likely tax increases on wealthy earners and corporations that would help pay for it.
