Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (7th District of Washington)
Racine, WI — July 8, 2026
The Racine community gathered in Racine Memorial Hall on Wednesday night for the latest Progress for the People town hall. Held in partnership with Families Over Billionaires’ “Who Pays” National Bus Tour, the event allowed the audience to ask questions of special guest Members of Congress, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04), Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02), Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02), Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03). The audience also heard from Kristen Crowell, Executive Director, Families Over Billionaires, and Racine Mayor Cory Mason, while Former Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler moderated the conversation.
The event was organized by 350 Wisconsin Action, Better Taxes Action Fund, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Family Friendly Wisconsin, Families Over Billionaires, For Our Future Wisconsin Action Fund, Hands Off Kenosha, IBEW Wisconsin State Conference, Main Street Action, Opportunity Wisconsin, Our Wisconsin Revolution, Progressive Caucus Action Fund, Voces de la Frontera Action, Wisconsin Education Association Council, and Working Families Power. The Progressive Caucus Action Fund, Families Over Billionaires, and Better Taxes Action Fund sponsored this event.
President Trump and Republicans in Congress have cut essential services and driven up the cost of health care, groceries, utilities, and student loans—all while handing massive tax breaks to corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Audience questions highlighted these concerns, as well as health care cuts, funding for endless wars, ICE activity in Wisconsin, and ending gun violence.
Speakers and local organizers stressed what is at stake for families across Wisconsin and the importance of gatherings like this to preserve democracy and bring about a future in which everyone can thrive.
“I want to thank my colleagues in Congress, Ben Wikler, Kristen Crowell, Mayor Cory Mason, and everyone who helped make this town hall possible,” said Congresswoman Gwen Moore. “Democracy is strongest when people come together to listen, ask tough questions, and hold their elected leaders accountable. That’s why we’re in Rep. Steil’s district, my birthplace, to highlight how Republican policies have made life harder and more expensive for Wisconsinites. While Republicans provided tax handouts to billionaires, Wisconsinites are losing their food assistance and are struggling to afford health care. Wisconsinites deserve to know which lawmakers are making these harmful decisions, and our town hall supported those critical conversations.”
“If the last 18 months have shown us anything, it’s that Trump and Congressional Republicans don’t give a damn about regular people,” Congressman Mark Pocan said. “Costs have skyrocketed, from healthcare to gas to groceries, yet Republicans’ top priority was handing millionaires and billionaires another massive tax break. Democrats are committed to putting working people first, not just those who can afford to be members of Mar-a-Lago. That’s why we’re here in Racine, to listen, to organize, and to keep fighting alongside the people who deserve a government that works for them, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”
“The people we spoke with at today’s town hall are doing everything right but still getting crushed by higher food prices, higher health care costs, stagnant wages, and a lousy economy built for billionaire profits and corporate greed,” said Congressman Jim McGovern. “Folks in Racine and across America deserve a hell of a lot better than politicians who vote against their interests and then try to hide from the consequences. Bryan Steil ought to be listening to the people hurt by his pro-inflation voting record. Instead, he’s done the opposite—rubber stamping Trump’s tariff and reckless war in Iran, and raising healthcare costs by refusing to extend ACA subsidies. Democrats will keep showing up to listen because we are fighting for an economy that puts working people first.”
“I was proud to join my colleagues in Racine, WI to talk to people about the issues that they are dealing with every single day,” said Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. “The American people are hurting under Trump and Republicans as prices skyrocket on everything from gas to groceries to electricity. And the juxtaposition could not be clearer as we held this event to hear directly from working people, at the same time that Vice President Vance was hosting a $10,000 per couple fundraiser just a few miles away in Milwaukee. While they pander to multi-millionaires and billionaires, Democrats are showing up in every corner of this country to hear directly from the people.”
“The Trump administration, aided by Republicans in Congress, has prioritized benefits for large corporations and billionaires at the expense of working people. As working families face a crisis of rising costs, Trump’s disastrous policies are making life unaffordable, ripping our families apart, and attacking our fundamental rights,” said Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez. “I am committed to ensuring a government that works for working people, not a government that ensures corporations and the fascists in the administration profit from our pain.”
“Tonight, Racine showed what democracy actually looks like: neighbors packing a room, asking hard questions, and refusing to let the powerful write the rules for everyone else,” said Ben Wikler, former Chair, Wisconsin Democratic Party. “When working families organize together, we don’t just protect our democracy, we make it stronger. That’s how we win.”
“What we heard in Racine tonight is what I hear at every town hall across the country,” said Kristen Crowell, Executive Director, Families Over Billionaires. “People are working hard, doing everything right, and still falling behind. Not because of anything they did, but because of choices being made in Washington. Last week marked one year since the One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law. Republicans called it a gift to working families. The people I met tonight, many of whom I’ve known for decades, know better. Wisconsinites are not fooled. They know when their leaders are choosing handouts for corporations and billionaires over the working families who built this state. They feel it in their rising grocery costs, their health care bills, their kids’ schools. Every time billionaires get a break, the rest of us get a bill. That is why events like this matter. When people get to stand up and tell their story in their own words, something shifts. Policy stops feeling abstract, and becomes undeniable. Families Over Billionaires is proud to stand with every partner who made tonight possible, and we are not stopping until these voices are heard.”
“Racine residents have been working harder but falling further behind,” said Racine Mayor Cory Mason. “So many things that were once affordable–like housing and health care—now seem so far out of reach for too many working families. What we need are partners in Washington who put the needs of everyday people ahead of the desires of billionaires.”
“The stories we heard tonight in Racine make clear that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was never about helping working families,” said Sarah Pray, Executive Director, Better Taxes Action Fund. “One year later, people are living with the consequences of a law that cut health care and other essential services to finance another round of tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations. Those weren’t unavoidable choices—they were political choices about who counts and whose voices matter. Americans are demanding something different: a tax code that reflects our values, asks the wealthiest to pay their fair share, and invests in the health, opportunity, and economic security that every family deserves.”
Local organizers stressed what is at stake for families across Wisconsin—particularly in districts where Republican representatives have avoided accountability.
“Tonight, we heard from people who are struggling to keep up with rising costs on everything from groceries to gas to child care,” said Brita Olsen of Family Friendly Wisconsin. “These stories are not unique – families across Wisconsin and across the country are being forced to cut back more and more. Instead of addressing this affordability crisis head on, Republicans in Congress are giving tax breaks to billionaires. The stories we heard tonight underscore the urgent need for elected leaders to stand with the people they represent and finally take action to lower costs.”
“Tonight wasn’t just about hearing from elected officials—it was about building community,” said Brittany Nikolai, Operations Coordinator, Hands Off Kenosha. “When people come together to learn, ask questions, and share their experiences, we strengthen our democracy. Hands Off Kenosha is grateful to everyone who attended, volunteered, and helped make this event possible. We hope this is just the beginning of even more civic engagement across our region.”
“Small business owners in Racine and across Wisconsin are the ones absorbing the fallout from the big, ugly law,” said Shawn Phetteplace, National Campaigns Director, Main Street Action. “They watch their customers cut back on essentials, they watch their employees lose coverage, and they watch their own costs climb because of tariffs and a health care system this law made more expensive, not less. This wasn’t tax reform, it was a transfer of wealth from Main Street to Wall Street, and small business owners are done staying quiet about it.”
“Across Wisconsin, across the United States, working-class people, families, and communities are facing the same problems,” said William Walter, Executive Director of Our Wisconsin Revolution. “The cost of living has skyrocketed while wages have stagnated. For too many Americans, the possibility of getting ahead again, the promise that better is possible through hard work, has become the daily struggle just to keep up. Everyday necessities are no longer affordable; luxuries long taken for granted have become as much of an illusion as the American Dream itself. The rich continue getting richer; the rest of us fall further and further behind. This is no coincidence…this is deliberate.
“Republican policies directly benefiting the ultrawealthy, while attacking protections for American workers, have turned an economy that was once the globe’s gold standard for opportunity on its head. The working class has been devastated, their economic power and quality of life decimated, by the Republican Party’s malicious and methodical efforts to funnel the wealth and resources of the United States into the hands of an increasingly elite few. Corrupt politicians, their families, friends, and campaign donors flourish while regular folks flounder. Americans deserve a country that serves the needs of the many rather than the will of an elite few. We are a nation of, by, and for the people… not of, by, and for the billionaires and the corporations. We will continue to organize our communities to fight for the fruits of our labor, and we will not rest until this nation fulfills its promise: a nation where hard work is rewarded, opportunity is real, and people do not struggle to survive, but are free to thrive. Better is possible; it’s time we the people demand it.”
“Everyone I talked to in the room tonight is leaving feeling more hopeful and more energized for the work ahead,” said Catherine Rowland, Director of Government Affairs and Access, Progressive Caucus Action Fund. “Tonight was an incredible example of what democracy ought to look like: elected officials listening to the people, answering their candid questions, and sharing their vision for a country where every person has what they need to thrive.”
“We hear the same thing in every classroom and community across Wisconsin: educators and families are working hard, doing everything right and still falling behind. Not because they failed, but because of decisions made far from our schools,” said Peggy Wirtz-Olsen, teacher and President, Wisconsin Education Association Council. “As a teacher, I see how rising costs and underfunded classrooms affect students every day. Listening sessions like this matter because they turn stories into action. When we listen to each other, we build the will to put students and working families first again in our state and nation and ensure public schools get the resources our children deserve right now together.”
The Racine town hall follows five previous stops on the Progress for the People Town Hall Tour with hundreds of community members in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Warren, Michigan; and Glens Falls, New York.