Nationwide Bus Tour Kicks Off in McCarthy’s District Ahead of Looming Default Deadline

“Back Off Our Benefits” Tour Urges House Members To Promise To Protect Essential Benefits Like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA

Bus Tour To Target 13 GOP Congressional Districts Across 10 States

Bakersfield, CA — Today, House accountability campaign Courage for America is kicking off the “Back Off Our Benefits” Bus Tour, joining forces with Americans across the country to call on members of the House majority to stop playing dangerous political games with the debt limit and promise to protect our hard-earned benefits.

Ahead of Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s 100th day in office, as he and other members of the House majority force the country toward the brink of a catastrophic default crisis, our 13-stop bus tour will travel across the country to districts represented by extreme MAGA lawmakers to demand they promise not to put Social Security, Medicare, and other critical programs on the chopping block.

The bus tour will launch today in Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s home district (CA-20) at the start of the in-district work period to call on him to listen to his constituents and make this promise to them. At the end of the tour, on April 17, we’ll arrive in Washington, D.C. to mark McCarthy’s 100th day as Speaker and deliver a petition signed by people across the country demanding he protect Americans’ benefits.

Featured speakers on the tour will include Courage for America council member and former MPD officer Michael Fanone, Courage for America spokesperson and Health Care Voter executive director Laura Packard, and MAGA House members’ own constituents who would be impacted by the loss of essential programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

“The extremism that fueled the violence I fought against on January 6 is the same extremism driving McCarthy’s plan to threaten a massively destructive default crisis,” said Michael Fanone, Courage for America council member and former MPD officer who defended the Capitol on January 6. “I stood up to McCarthy then, and I’ll stand up to him again now — he needs to stop playing political games at the expense of people’s Social Security, Medicaid, and other essential benefits.”

“It’s extremely disturbing to watch the House majority use the threat of a default crisis to cut essential programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act that literally saved my life,” said Laura Packard, spokesperson for Courage for America and executive director of Health Care Voter. “McCarthy and other leaders in the House majority need to listen to their constituents when we tell them that their extreme agenda is the complete opposite of what we need and want from our government.”

Press can RSVP for bus tour events using the links below. For assistance, or to learn more about the Back Off Our Benefits Bus Tour, please email [email protected].

“Back Off Our Benefits” Bus Tour Stops:

1.Thursday, March 30

Bakersfield, CA | Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA-20)

PRESS RSVP HERE

2.Saturday, April 1

Phoenix, AZ | Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-01)

PRESS RSVP HERE

3.Saturday, April 1

Flagstaff, AZ | Rep. Eli Crane (AZ-02)

PRESS RSVP HERE

4.Monday, April 3

Durango, CO | Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-03)