The California wealth tax campaign is hitting the Hill.
An official with the health care union championing the proposed one-time, 5 percent tax on billionaires’ assets met with California’s House delegation and the House Progressive Caucus this week, seeking to build political support for a ballot measure that has roiled California politics and drawn the opposition of Gov. Gavin Newsom and other labor unions.
California Rep. Ro Khanna said he facilitated the meetings, in which SEIU-UHW political director Gustavo Medina made the case for the initiative as a solution to the deep health care cuts contained in President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending bill.
Khanna and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are the most prominent politicians supporting the ballot initiative, which has otherwise gained little traction from elected officials as Newsom and others warn it will imperil California’s financial stability and drive wealthy taxpayers out of the state.
Supporters are likely to be overwhelmingly outspent by opponents of the effort, including Silicon Valley titans like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who has poured millions of dollars into rival ballot measures. And they will have to contend with Democrat-aligned opponents like Planned Parenthood and the California Teachers Association.
Khanna and other backers have argued the measure is both a necessary corrective to Trump’s agenda and an opportunity for Democrats to embrace a populist economic message.
Melanie Mason contributed to this report.
