Congressional Democrats will hold a series of “teach-ins” to celebrate the Martin Luther King holiday, hoping to rally Americans against the GOP’s tax bill as they seek to regain their legislative footing.
After ending 2017 on defense, watching from the sidelines as the GOP approved a landmark tax code overhaul and repealed a major portion of Obamacare, Democrats are vowing to try to push their agenda in 2018.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who is slated to meet with top White House officials Wednesday, said she’ll pursue a series of “long-overdue, bipartisan priorities” for more spending, including the opioid epidemic, a bailout for some private pensions, additional disaster relief and government-run health programs.
Mrs. Pelosi also said Democrats still want to pass the Dream Act to grant citizenship rights to illegal immigrant “Dreamers.” That effort stalled late last year, causing Democrats to miss their self-imposed December deadline for action.
“The Republican-controlled House, Senate and White House squandered 2017 by stacking the deck for privileged, the powerful and special interests and against America’s middle class families,” Mrs. Pelosi said in a letter to her congressional colleagues.
As for the Jan. 13 teach-ins, she said the goal will be to use the civil rights icon’s holiday to rally opposition to the tax overhaul, which she and fellow Democrats have labeled the “GOP tax scam.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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