BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A House accountability campaign called Courage for America kicked off its nationwide "Back Off Our Benefits" bus tour in Bakersfield on Thursday. The tour began at a park near House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's district office, as it is he the people are calling on to protect essential programs.
Social Security, Medicare, and veterans programs are just some of the benefits that Courage for America is asking the House speaker not to cut. Spokeswoman Laura Packard, a cancer survivor and executive director of Healthcare Voter, says the Affordable Care Act saved her life.
According to Packard, her goal, and the goal of many others involved in the campaign, is to send a message to McCarthy that he should "stop playing politics with the deficit crisis."
"The affects every single one of us," said Packard. "Whether you or someone you love depends on Medicare and Social Security, veterans benefits, food stamps to feed your family, we're all at risk, and so they need to stop with the playing games and stop threatening our livelihoods."
Packard continues, saying these are essential benefits Americans rely on.
McCarthy's constituents asked the speaker to join them at the bus tour kick-off and make a promise to them to protect benefits, but they did not hear anything back from his office about it.
"Because this is an issue that is so urgent for all of us, we're still here. I am just one example of the millions of Americans that have been under attack due to their [people in the government who consider cutting public benefits] extremism," said Packard.
Retired Metropolitan D.C. Police Officer Michael Fanone, who suffered a heart attack after being beaten by the mob during the January 6 riot, says he joined the Courage for America campaign on the second anniversary of the insurrection to fight political extremism.
"I think that it should concern every American that this extremist ideology is occupying the Republican party, holding our leaders hostage. Extremism, regardless of what side of the aisle it's on, is wrong. It doesn't represent the vast majority of Americans like myself, who believe in things like compromise to achieve goals to better represent everyone," said Fanone.
The people working behind the scenes at the Courage for America campaign say the bus tour will conclude on April 17 in Washington DC to mark Kevin McCarthy's one hundredth day as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The campaign also plans to hold a press conference at the Capitol and deliver a petition to the speaker formally asking Congress to put an end to what they call "political games."
