House Republicans Vote to Advance Plan To Cut Health Care and Food Assistance for Millions of Americans to Pay for Tax Breaks for Billionaires
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, House Republicans advanced their budget resolution that would gut vital programs to pay for another massive tax break for billionaires and big corporations. Working families who rely on vital programs such as Medicaid and SNAP will bear the brunt of these cuts. By casting this vote today, House Republicans are jeopardizing health care for approximately 72 million people across the country and food assistance for 41 million families, including many of their own constituents.
“Cuts to Medicaid would directly affect my family and families like mine,” said Janae Stevenson from Phoenix, Arizona. “Medicaid was the reason I was able to have the major surgery that I needed. It’s also the reason my grandfather, a veteran and a former educator who has severe dementia, is able to access his primary care. If Republicans in Congress move forward with cuts to Medicaid, he could lose his health care coverage and millions of families like ours could too.”
“I rely on SNAP benefits to feed myself and I don’t know what I will do if Republicans in Congress cut this program,” said Julia Bennker, a local childcare provider from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. “I provide child care in my home as my own business. As is true with almost all child care providers, I make poverty-level wages so SNAP helps me keep my life going. It just goes to show that Republicans in Congress have no clue how much harm these cuts would cause.”
New polling released today shows that the vast majority of Americans oppose Congress giving more tax breaks for billionaires. Now, many Republican members are facing growing backlash back at home for planning to give massive tax breaks to billionaires at working families’ expense. Unrig Our Economy has helped thousands of Americans call their representatives to ask them not to vote for cuts to important programs. Earlier this month, Unrig Our Economy launched a new eight-figure campaign that kicked off with TV ads urging Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) and Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02) to oppose tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. Despite all of this, House Republicans still voted for a budget plan that would kick millions off of their health insurance and make it harder for families to put food on the table, all so that they can give millionaires and billionaires another massive tax break.
“This budget resolution is a fundamental betrayal of working- and middle-class Americans,” said Unrig Our Economy spokesperson Kobie Christian. “Millions of everyday people are already feeling the effects of rising prices and President Trump’s illegal federal funding cuts. House Republicans’ plan will only make things worse and further raise costs on essentials like health care and food. Republicans are putting their own constituents on the chopping block to fund a massive giveaway to the ultra-rich. This vote is another reminder that Republicans’ agenda can be summarized in four words: Billionaires first, families last.”
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact [email protected]
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About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.