Stop Deficit Squawks is an advocacy campaign managed by a coalition of left-of-center groups, which advocates in support of key elements of the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better Agenda.” The coalition also campaigns against right-of-center and deficit-reduction organizations, particularly the centrist Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which support policies that would reduce the federal deficit by decreasing government expenditures on entitlement programs.

Background

On May 10, 2021, a coalition of left-of-center advocacy groups created the Stop Deficit Squawks campaign. According to the campaign’s inaugural press release, the group’s launch was timed to coincide with the period when Congress was slated to begin considering “signature” elements of the Biden administration’s economic agenda. The launch was designed to counter expected criticism from major right-of-center and centrist think tanks, including the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the Heritage Foundation, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). ¹

Several prominent activists and political operatives from coalition members of Stop Deficit Squawks made supporting statements in the campaign’s inaugural press release. These include Amy Traub, associate director of policy and research at Demos; Margarida Jorge, spokesperson for Healthcare for America Now; Lindsay Owens, interim executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative; Jhumpa Bhattacharya, vice president of programs and strategy of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development; Spencer Watkins, executive director of the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement and Research; Emily TeKolst, an organizer with the NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; Morgan Stahr, co-executive director of Blue Future; and Jeremie Greer, co-executive director of Liberation in a Generation. ²

Other coalition members include the Action Center on Race and the Economy, the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), Friends of the Earth, the Indivisible Project, Invest in America, Patriotic Millionaires, People’s Action, Social Security Works, the Strong Economy for All Coalition, and Tax March. ³

Activities

According to its press release, Stop Deficit Squawks plans on spending “six figures” during the summer of 2021 on advertisements opposing the research and positions of right-of-center organizations and highlighting their alleged connections with corporate interests. ⁴

In a position paper featured prominently on the campaign’s website, the organization expresses its support for the Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan, a proposal to spend $2 trillion on U.S. infrastructure over eight years. Stop Deficit Squawks also supports the American Families Plan, a proposal to significantly increase federal spending on childcare, paid-leave programs, pre-kindergarten education programs, community college, and health care. Both plans are key components of the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” agenda. ^{5 6 7}

In the same position paper, Stop Deficit Squawks criticized research from the CRFB which took with the size and broadness of the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. The bill resulted in the distribution of direct $1,400 payments to a majority of Americans, the supplementation and extension of employment benefits until Labor Day 2021, and the extension of a bill increasing food stamp benefits by 15%. ⁸⁹¹⁰

Other position papers featured on the campaign’s website concern Medicare, unemployment, environmentalism, and post-Great Recession economic recovery. The papers support left-of-center policy, while also criticizing the positions and questioning the motivations of right-of-center organizations negatively identified by the campaign. ¹¹

According to CNBC, the campaign plans to pressure individual legislators at the state level across the country to support the Biden administration’s economic proposals and reject research from right-of-center organizations that highlights problems with the plans. ¹² 

1. “Press Release: Advocacy Groups Launch Campaign To ‘Stop Deficit Squawks’ In Washington.” Stop Deficit Squawks. May 10, 2021. Accessed June 4, 2021.  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60660bb6cb93c20a58a7e474/t/609981f53593426c9061b5af/1620673013893/SDS+release.pdf
2. “Press Release: Advocacy Groups Launch Campaign To ‘Stop Deficit Squawks’ In Washington.” Stop Deficit Squawks. May 10, 2021. Accessed June 4, 2021.  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60660bb6cb93c20a58a7e474/t/609981f53593426c9061b5af/1620673013893/SDS+release.pdf
3. “Press Release: Advocacy Groups Launch Campaign To ‘Stop Deficit Squawks’ In Washington.” Stop Deficit Squawks. May 10, 2021. Accessed June 4, 2021.https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60660bb6cb93c20a58a7e474/t/609981f53593426c9061b5af/1620673013893/SDS+release.pdf
4. “Press Release: Advocacy Groups Launch Campaign To ‘Stop Deficit Squawks’ In Washington.” Stop Deficit Squawks. May 10, 2021. Accessed June 4, 2021.  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60660bb6cb93c20a58a7e474/t/609981f53593426c9061b5af/1620673013893/SDS+release.pdf
5. “American Rescue Plan.” The White House. March 11, 2021. Accessed June 7, 2021.  https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/American-Rescue-Plan-Fact-Sheet.pdf
6. “Build Back Better.” The White House. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/build-back-better/
7. “We Can’t Let Squawks Stifle Another Recovery.” Stop Defecit Squawks. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60660bb6cb93c20a58a7e474/t/6098d78d09bee517e8e53c9c/1620629389829/SDS-1PG-5.pdf
8. “American Rescue Plan.” The White House. March 11, 2021. Accessed June 7, 2021.  https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/American-Rescue-Plan-Fact-Sheet.pdf
9. “Build Back Better.” The White House. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/build-back-better/
10. “We Can’t Let Squawks Stifle Another Recovery.” Stop Defecit Squawks. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60660bb6cb93c20a58a7e474/t/6098d78d09bee517e8e53c9c/1620629389829/SDS-1PG-5.pdf
11. “Homepage: Additional Resources.” Stop Deficit Squawks. Accessed July 7, 2021.  https://www.stopdeficitsquawks.com/
12. Schwartz, Brian. “Progressive groups target Koch network, other critics of Biden spending plans with new campaign.” CNBC. May 10, 2021. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/10/progressive-groups-target-koch-network-other-critics-of-biden-spending-plans.html