AFT President Weingarten Condemns House for Passing Harmful Bill

WASHINGTON—After the House of Representatives passed a controversial reconciliation bill backed by Donald Trump, AFT President Randi Weingarten released a statement criticizing the legislation.

“A better name for this bill is the big, ugly betrayal. Passed in the dead of night, it is a direct attack on working people and the essential services Americans rely on. And for what? To pay for tax cuts for billionaires,” Weingarten stated.

The bill is expected to have significant impacts on the American populace, particularly affecting children and the elderly by redistributing wealth to the wealthy. As noted by Weingarten, "Seventy percent of the benefits will go to the top 5 percent at the expense of the bottom 40 percent." Concerns are rising that this will exacerbate the national debt and stymie economic growth.

Critics of the bill argue that it undermines essential services. "Rather than protect Medicare and Medicaid, this bill cuts them, denying healthcare to 14 million people. Rather than strengthen public education, it weakens it. Rather than feeding poor families, it rips food out of their mouths," Weingarten explained.

The legislation also includes a $20 billion allocation for a school voucher program, which some view as a tax shelter for affluent families. Weingarten pointed out that such vouchers "syphon crucial funds away from public schools into private hands," and are linked to significant declines in student achievement, particularly benefiting families already in private schooling.

Despite Republican control, the bill narrowly passed in the House, sparking calls for the Senate to reject it. Weingarten emphasized the disconnect between the bill and voter priorities, suggesting that educators and working families will express their discontent through protests and at the polls.

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The AFT represents 1.8 million individuals, including pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, paraprofessionals, school-related personnel, higher education faculty, government employees, healthcare workers, and early childhood educators.