Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

• Yes: Standard deduction: a set dollar amount that reduces your taxable income
• No: Itemized deductions: you specify the expenses you want to reduce your taxable income

• Yes: No health insurance, Health insurance from your employer, Medicare, Veterans Affairs health care, Private health insurance you pay for out of pocket, Your state's Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• No: Money you contributed to or withdrew from a Health Savings Account (HSA), Health insurance for you, your spouse, or dependents, bought directly through the Health Insurance Marketplace with HealthCare.gov or a state program (you would've received a Form 1095-A)

• Yes: Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents
• No: Claim any credits other than the ones listed above, Claim these credits or other tax benefits for a child as their non-custodial parent

Derec said:

So this Direct File is very limited and only applies to some people. Why?

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• Coordination with state taxes -- limits which states
• Handling of additional types of income

Galen Metzger on X: "I legitimately think AOC is as skilled a politician as Peltola, Perez, Kaptur, and other major overperformers are. We don't see it, because she's in a deep blue seat and is a target of the GOP media apparatus - But she is an incredibly effective advocate for Democratic party." / X

In an interview, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said her decision to give to the campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was driven primarily by the dire threat of Republicans staying in power. She feared a Republican-controlled House would not certify a potential re-election of President Biden this fall.

“The entire country saw a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol that was predicated on not certifying the duly submitted results of a presidential election,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said of the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. “And if anybody thinks that that was not a dress rehearsal for what they may try to attempt in January of 2025, I’m sorry to say, but I think that’s a very naïve assumption.”

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Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has become one of the Democratic Party’s most prolific fund-raisers; her campaign committee has raised more than $37 million since 2019. She has raised another $11.1 million, according to her office, for nonfederal candidates and causes, including nonprofits, food banks and abortion-rights groups.

But until now, she had never given a dime to her own party’s leadership, even though House Democrats are each assigned “dues” that they are supposed to pay to remain members in good standing.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s $260,000 contribution is earmarked specifically for the party’s Voter Protection Program. It is the first time a member of Congress has given money to a program that works on voter registration, poll observation and litigation.

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Her PAC has another $500,000 that she said was intended to defend fellow members of the squad from party challengers, a sum that she noted was larger than her transfer to the campaign arm.

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The “foundational element” of her decision to give now, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said, was to make sure she helped Democrats take back the House, which Republicans only narrowly control now.

She said she had little confidence that Speaker Mike Johnson, who is set to appear at Mar-a-Lago on Friday with former President Donald J. Trump to make an “election integrity” announcement, would rebuff any efforts by Mr. Trump to overturn the election.

“This party has turned into a party of Trumpism and it has turned into a cult of personality,” she said. “I don’t know if Mike Johnson has it in him to defend our democracy against a threat like that.”

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oday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-03) reintroduced the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act in partnership with public housing residents, affordable housing advocates, and climate change activists. The sweeping legislation aims to retrofit, rehabilitate, expand, and decarbonize the entire nation’s public housing stock through an estimated $162 to $234 billion investment over the next ten years.

“Years of grassroots organizing on behalf of vulnerable Americans led to the creation of the first federal public housing units but for decades the federal government has allowed our limited public housing stock to fall into disrepair. Residents are dealing with mold growth, lead-based paint hazards, lack of central cooling and heating, failing water infrastructure, and numerous other safety concerns. It is beyond time for the federal government to take responsibility and pass legislation that offers comprehensive, public solutions,” said Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. “The Green New Deal for Public Housing Act will allow for an increase in public housing units, create an estimated 280,000 jobs, and invest up to $23 billion a year over ten years for highly energy-efficient developments. This will produce on-site renewable energy, expand workforce capacity, and focus on community development. Every American deserves to live in a safe, vibrant, and environmentally conscious community — including public housing residents. I am confident this legislation is how we make that a reality.”

“In these difficult times, we must move forward boldly to address the systemic and existential crises facing us today and that includes urgently combating climate change and making sure every American has a safe and decent place to call home,” said Senator Sanders. “It is unacceptable that, on a single given night in America, over 650,000 people are homeless. It is unacceptable that, in the richest country in the history of the world, people are choosing between paying rent and putting food on the table. It is unacceptable that our nation’s public housing is in a state of chronic disrepair and energy inefficiency after generations of government neglect. It is unacceptable that we have not done more to transform our energy systems, our communities, and our infrastructure away from fossils and toward renewable energy. This legislation is a major step in the right direction, and I am proud to partner with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez in introducing it today.”

"Safe, sustainable, resilient, affordable housing is a HUMAN RIGHT, plain and simple. The policies we advance in Congress must help us realize that truth for EVERYONE. As our nation reckons with both a worsening housing crisis and urgent climate crisis, we must fight for and realize bold policy action and investment," said Congresswoman Delia Ramirez. "I am proud to stand with Representative Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Sanders to introduce legislation that will secure the future of our public housing, prioritize climate and racial justice, and boost our economy and labor force. The Green New Deal for Public Housing is a bold solution to confront unprecedented challenges."

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• Expand federal programs to provide residents with meaningful work investing in their communities, to own and operate resident businesses, to move toward financial independence, and to participate in the management of public housing.
• Expand resident councils so that public housing residents have a seat at the table for important decisions regarding their homes.
• Replenish the public housing capital backlog and repeal the Faircloth Amendment, which limits the construction of new public housing developments.

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• Deep energy retrofits to increase energy savings in all 970,000 public housing units;
• Addressing community workforce development needs by prioritizing good-paying job opportunities for residents;
• Energy efficiency, building electrification, and water quality upgrades;
• Community renewable energy generation, the profits of which will be controlled by Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to boost their coffers and increase self-sufficiency;
• Recycling;
• Community resiliency and sustainability;
• Climate adaptation and emergency disaster response.

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Senate Cosponsors: Blumenthal, Booker, Markey, Merkley, Padilla, Warren, Welch

House Cosponsors: Ramirez, Balint, Barragán, Blumenauer, Bowman, Boyle, Bush, Carter, Casar, Clarke, Cohen, D. Davis, Dingell, Espaillat, Frost, C. Garcia, R. Garcia, Goldman, Gomez, Grijalva, Norton, Huffman, Ivey, J. Jackson, Jayapal, H. Johnson, Khanna, B. Lee, S. Lee, Lieu, McCollum, McGovern, Meeks, Meng, Mullin, Nadler, Napolitano, Omar, Pingree, Pressley, Raskin, Sánchez, Schakowsky, A. Smith, Stansbury, Suozzi, Swalwell, Thanedar, Tlaib, Tonko, R. Torres, Velázquez, Watson-Coleman, F. Wilson

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) today reintroduced essential legislation that would take on the affordable housing crisis and the existential threat of climate change. The Green New Deal for Public Housing Act invests up to $234 billion over ten years to transition the entire public housing stock in the United States into zero-carbon, highly energy-efficient homes – dramatically improving living conditions for nearly 2 million people in public housing across the country. The legislation also creates up to 280,000 good-paying, union jobs per year, while reducing annual carbon emissions by roughly 5.7 million metric tons – the equivalent of taking over 1.26 million cars off the road.

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The purpose of this Act is—

(1) to stimulate, gather, and develop the workforce capacity, tools, financing, and materials needed to rehabilitate, upgrade, modernize, maintain, staff, and transition public housing;

(2) to rehabilitate and preserve public housing that is severely distressed and causing residents to be exposed to unhealthy and unsafe environments;

(3) to upgrade and equip all public housing with cutting-edge materials, infrastructure, and all-electric appliances made in the United States in order to improve energy efficiency, water quality, and material living standards in public housing and to support United States manufacturing;

(4) to ensure that public housing laws maximize tenant participation and management by low- and very low-income individuals in the rehabilitation, upgrade, and transition of public housing through education, training, and jobs; and

(5) to modernize the entire public housing stock of the United States, as swiftly and seamlessly as possible, into highly energy-efficient homes that produce on-site, or procure, enough carbon-free renewable energy to meet total energy consumption annually.

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“We have to return to an era of rebuilding public housing in the United States. And we have to reject the idea that it's broken policy,” Ocasio-Cortez said at a press conference rolling out the legislation Thursday.

According to the congresswoman’s office, the bill would invest between $162 billion and $234 billion over a decade into rehabilitating and decarbonizing the nation’s public housing stock.

It also would eliminate a federal policy, the so-called Faircloth Amendment, that restricts the construction of more public housing units.

In New York City, Ocasio-Cortez says the proposal would help the city’s housing authority (NYCHA) tackle the $40 billion backlog in needed improvements, while also creating tens of thousands of jobs.

“Transitioning from our boilers to solar. Transitioning from gas to electric. Transitioning our appliances from dirty to clean. And we would also make sure that all of that work is being done by NYCHA residents, and by union labor,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Bowman, in his remarks, echoed Jimmy McMillan, saying, “the rent is too damn high, y’all.”

“Housing is healthcare. Housing is about self-esteem and self-worth,” Bowman said.

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Derec said:

So this Direct File is very limited and only applies to some people. Why?

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Housing is a human right.

The reason people are on the streets isn’t a mystery. Housing is too expensive, there isn’t enough that’s affordable, and the federal government has neglected public housing for far too long.

@SenSanders and I know a way to combat the housing crisis, all while creating union jobs AND tackling climate change.

It’s called the Green New Deal for Public Housing.

A better world - where more Americans can afford safe and reliable housing - is within our reach.

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Our Green New Deal for Public Housing is a win-win-win for America
This legislation addresses four crises facing the country.

The U.S. has lost 1 in 4 public housing units to privatization, demolition and underfunding over the last decade.

We do not have to accept the status quo, where millions of families across this country are on the brink of eviction and affordable social and public housing remains out of reach.

We do not have to accept the fact that in the richest nation in the history of the world, more than 650,000 people g to sleep each night without a roof over their heads.

We can imagine a better world, where housing is plentiful, affordable and sustainable -- where all Americans have a place to call home, where public housing has community centers for our seniors, playgrounds for our children and energy sources that don't filling up our lungs with! pollution.

This better world is possible. All it requires is the necessary political will.

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• 116: 2019-2020 -- H.Res.109 101(67) -- S.Res.59 14 (11)
• 117: 2021-2022 -- H.Res.332 104(101) -- S.Res.166 12(12)
• 118: 2023-2024 -- H.Res.319 96(93) -- S.Res.173 12(11)

• 116: 2019-2020 -- H.R.5185 26(14) -- S.2876 3(2)
• 117: 2021-2022 -- H.R.2664 45(22) -- S.1218 6(3)
• 118: 2023-2024 -- H.R.7782 57(55) (introduced 03/21/2024)

• 117: 2021-2022 -- H.R.4442 70(32) -- S.2259 0(0) "Resilient Schools Act"
• 118: 2023-2024 -- H.R.5784 81(77) -- S.2988 3(1)

• 118: 2023-2024 -- H.R.2764 27(21)

• 118: 2023-2024 -- H.R.5007 1(0) -- S.2657 0(0)