New report exposes corporate push to derail popular agenda
Media advisory: Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Contact: Deana Rutherford, 773-230-8112 or deana@thepeopleslobbyusa.org
What: Elected officials at the local, county, and state levels will hold a press conference in front of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Chicago headquarters to urge Congressional Democrats to stand with their constituents against corporate attempts to dodge taxes and derail President Biden’s Build Back Better plan.
When and where: 9:00am – 9:20am, Wednesday, September 29, 300 E. Randolph. This is a part of a national day of action, with 25 People’s Action affiliates participating.
Why: For months, corporations like Blue Cross, Blue Shield have spent millions lobbying Congress to weaken the Build Back Better plan. According to Behind the Curtain: The Corporate Plot to Upend Democracy, a report that will be released at the press conference, Blue Cross Blue Shield is fifth on the list of top corporate lobbyists in 2021, spending more than $12 million urging members of Congress to allow them to continue to weasel out of paying their fair share in taxes. The new incriminating report, authored by People’s Action and Demos, reveals the depths of corporate disruption to President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. Rather than allowing BCBS to hide their profits in a tax shelter or distribute them among wealthy shareholders, the Build Back Better plan would use that money to create millions of jobs by expanding health care, green energy, housing, and climate protection. Read the report here.
“I got into this work because I believe in government’s role in healing: healing the lives of our residents, disinvested communities, and even our planet. It’s sad, then, in this time of climate devastation, to see rich corporations like Blue Cross Blue Shield leave behind its work of healing in favor of seducing our federal representatives into ignoring their duty to their constituents. We need every Democrat in Congress to muster up the courage to pass the Build Back Better agenda, and to fund it by finally standing up to the super-rich and corporations like BCBS,” said Daniel La Spata, alderman of the first ward.
Who: Elected officials including Aldermen Daniel La Spata, Rossana Rodriguez, Byron Sigcho Lopez, Andre Vasquez, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Michael Rodriguez, and Matt Martin, County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, State Representatives Will Guzzardi and Delia Ramirez, State Senators Robert Peters and Mike Simmons, and community leaders from The People’s Lobby, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, One Northside, and Fair Economy Illinois.
Follow along on Twitter and Facebook Live. Media outlets have permission to use the livestream in broadcasts.