FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, October 8, 2018
CONTACT: Lee Morrow | [email protected] | 202-601-7871
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TODAY: Nuns on the Bus Launches Nationwide Tour at Rally in Los Angeles
30 Catholic Sisters Driving to Mar-a-Lago to Highlight Harmful Effects of 2017 Tax Law
Leader Pelosi and Rep. Jimmy Gomez Join Kick-Off Rally in Los Angeles
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Nuns on the Bus tour launched with a kick-off rally in Los Angeles with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Nuns on the Bus is traveling across the country to educate the public about the deceitfully-named “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017,” including to congressional districts where the incumbent voted in support of the Republican tax law.
The Nuns on the Bus tour will include 54 events in 21 states over the course of 27 days, launching today in Los Angeles and ending at Mar-a-Lago with a “Fiesta for the Common Good.”
The month-long Nuns on the Bus tour, which will run from October 8 to November 2, is the sixth time the Sisters have gone on the road, beginning the tours in 2012 to protest the budget proposed by now-Speaker Paul Ryan. Organized by NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice and led by Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, prior Nuns on the Bus tours have visited 32 states to talk about economic inequality, elections, immigration, and other key issues facing the nation.
“There is no justice in this tax law—it’s a disgrace,” said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. “This isn’t about politics, this is about faith in America. As Sister Simone and the Nuns head out on the road, when it comes to the health and well being of our nation, our hopes are riding on them.”
“It is crystal clear who the Republican Members of Congress serve, and it is not the men, women, and children that Jesus championed,” said Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice and Leader of Nuns on the Bus. “Nuns on the Bus is headed on the road today to expose the lies about the Republican Tax Law and hold the people who voted for it accountable ahead of the 2018 midterms. We have to end the unpatriotic lie of individualism, and instead recognize the constitutional truth of ‘We the People’.”
“We want to make sure that people know that there are consequences to how they vote in Congress,” said Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34). “The people are paying attention, and the people will hold them accountable.”
“Tax and budget policy is not just about numbers: it’s about our values, priorities and sense of justice,” said Gene Sperling, Former Director of the National Economic Council. “The efforts by this White House and Republican-led Congress to slash healthcare for seniors, working families, and those with disabilities while giving huge tax windfalls for the most well-off individuals and corporations is a betrayal of those most basic values of fairness and caring for each other. I am proud of Nuns on the Bus for leading the charge by taking that message on the road and directly to this President.”
“I did everything I could to get Congressman Ed Royce to hear my voice, see my daughter Myka’s face, hear her story,” said Angela Eilers, mother of Little Lobbyist Myka Eilers whose health insurance coverage of a pre-existing condition is jeopardized by the 2017 Tax Law. “Surely, if he saw how adorable she was he’d come to realize he needed to stand up to his party and vote in the best interests of his district.”
“We need a tax code that rewards work rather than favors wealth,” said Joe Sanberg, creator of CalEITC4me. “But instead, the tax code has become rigged for big monopolies. So, it’s no surprise that tens of millions of people are working, in some cases multiple jobs, and still can’t afford life’s basic needs.”
Additional Background:
Route: California – Nevada – Arizona – Colorado – Nebraska – Iowa – Missouri – Illinois – Indiana – Michigan – Ohio – Pennsylvania – New York – New Jersey – Delaware – Washington, D.C. – Virginia – North Carolina – South Carolina – Georgia – Florida
Congressional Districts: On the way to Mar-a-Lago, the Nuns on the Bus will make a concerted effort to visit the congressional districts of elected officials who voted in favor of the tax law, despite the harmful effects it would have on their constituents, including: AZ-02; CA-45; CO-06; FL-26; IA-01; IL-06; IL-12; MI-11; NE-02; NV-03; NY-22; PA-08; PA-12; and VA-10.
Nuns: Thirty Catholic Sisters from across the country will travel on the bus. They will carry what they learn from voters across the country to President Trump’s resort at Mar-a-Lago—the pinnacle of economic inequality and hoarding of wealth. The Sisters are from:
- California (Los Angeles)
- District of Columbia
- Illinois (Chicago)
- Iowa (Clinton, Sioux City)
- Kentucky (Villa Hills)
- Maryland (Baltimore, Bladensburg)
- Michigan (Detroit, Kalamazoo)
- Minnesota (Richfield)
- Missouri (Kansas City)
- New York (Jamaica Estates, Rochester, Schenectady, Tarrytown)
- Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Scranton)
- Wisconsin (Fon du Lac, Kenosha, Middleton, Milwaukee, St. Francis)
More information, including the full route, is available on the website: www.nunsonthebus.org.
To set up interviews with Sister Simone Campbell or any of the Nuns on the Bus—or if you are interested in joining us at a stop or riding along—please contact the press team at: [email protected] or 202-601-7871.
Video, photos, graphics, and other media support, which will be updated on a rolling basis, are available at: www.nunsonthebus.org/media.
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Nuns on the Bus is a campaign of NETWORK: advocates for justice inspired by Catholic sisters who educate, organize, and lobby for economic and social transformation. NETWORK has a 46-year track record of lobbying for critical federal programs that support those at the margins and prioritize the common good.