While most MAGA Republicans in Washington D.C., and across the 50 states are sponsoring legislation and Executive Orders designed to pull the nation backward and pull people down, Democrats and Progressive Activists have been advancing proposals that would move the country forward and lift people up.
Yesterday (April 8, 2025), Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, along with most of the Senate Democratic Caucus, unveiled the Raise the Wage Act to increase the National Minimum Wage to $17.00 by 2030.
This measure, if passed, would positively benefit 22 million people.
Commenting on the proposal in a press release, Senator Kelly stated:
“At a time when Trump and Musk are looking to rig the economy even more for their billionaire friends, I’m fighting for regular American workers who deserve a dignified wage. Hardworking Americans earning minimum wage should still be able to get ahead and pursue their American dream. It’s past time we do right by workers and raise the minimum wage.”
All of Arizona’s Congressional Democrats also sponsored legislation called the Housing Vouchers Fairness Act, designed to reform affordable housing voucher opportunities in the nation’s fastest-growing cities.
Commenting on this move, Arizona House Congressional District (CD) Three Representative Yassamin Ansari relayed:
“Everyone deserves a safe, affordable, dignified place to live. For so many Arizonans, home ownership is out of reach and rents are skyrocketing. I’m proud to join Senator Gallego in introducing the Housing Vouchers Fairness Act to affirm and expand housing as a human right and bring more housing vouchers to Arizonans. In Congress, I will always fight to lower housing costs for my community and for working-class Americans across the country.”
CD Four Representative Greg Stanton stated:
“Arizona’s population is growing fast, especially in the East Valley. As our population grows, so does the demand for affordable housing. But for too long, the federal government has relied on outdated formulas for housing vouchers that favor coastal cities–leaving Arizona families without the support they need. Our Housing Vouchers Fairness Act finally rights this wrong, and will help more families find affordable, safe and stable housing.”
Senator Kelly conveyed:
“Arizona’s population is growing fast, but the support we get for affordable housing hasn’t kept up. Too many families in the Phoenix area are being squeezed by rising costs, and it’s time federal resources matched the need. We’re fixing an outdated system and making sure Arizona gets its fair share so more families can afford a safe place to live.”
Senator Gallego offered:
“Growing up, I watched my single mom work tirelessly to afford a safe apartment for my sisters and me. But for too many Arizonans, no matter how hard they work, rents continue to rise and the only hope for assistance is at the end of a years-long waitlist. My bill finally addresses the disparities in the federal housing voucher program so that more Arizonans can get into safe, affordable homes. This is just the first step in my fight to bring down housing costs in Arizona and across the country.”
Ansari and Stanton, along with many Democratic members of the House, also penned a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, calling on him to restore the entire staff overseeing the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
This program and its staff, according to the letter:
“…Is vital for millions of families, and in fact is oversubscribed. More than 25 million American households report foregoing food and medicine to pay their energy bills, and of those, 7 million households report that they face that decision every month.1 LIHEAP benefits target households who need the assistance the most, particularly those that have a high home energy burden and or have household members who are elderly, disabled, and or young children.”
This program is essential this time of year in Arizona where the state is already setting, again, daily record heat levels.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, in a social media post, called what Kennedy’s HHS did “dangerous” and said that if the Secretary wanted to make Americans healthier, “reversing this decision is the place to start.”
Representative Ansari recently introduced legislation to help people affected by the staffing cuts, posting:
Finally, Arizona Legislators Joined Stand for Children and other Early Childhood Advocates at the State Capitol yesterday, calling on legislators and Governor Katie Hobbs to support investments in child care and early education.
Raising the Minimum Wage. Supporting increases in affordable housing. Making sure low-income people can get air conditioning during the summer heat. Investing in child care and early child education.
These are all measures Democrats enthusiastically support while most MAGA Republicans hide from.
Readers and voters need to think about that when deciding who to support in future elections.
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