Press Releases
Rep. Becca Balint Joins Democrats in Taking Down Cruel Republican Budget“This failure means another opportunity to fight for what Americans need and want: affordable health care and an economy that works for all of us.”
Washington,
May 16, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL) and Budget Democrats successfully blocked the Republican Budget that would have slashed Medicaid, food assistance and other critical programs that Americans rely on. The Republican plan cuts over $880 billion in cuts that would decimate Medicaid, risking the health care coverage for over 13.7 million Americans to bankroll tax breaks for billionaires and massive corporations. These cuts would put rural hospitals at risk of immediate closure due to these cuts, including many of Vermont’s hospitals. “Budget Committee Republicans voted down their own bill because it wasn’t extreme enough to deny health care to 13.7 million Americans, they want to take it even further,” said Rep. Balint. “This failure means another opportunity to fight for what Americans need and want: affordable health care and an economy that works for all of us.” The Republican Budget included:
The Treasury Department found that the extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts would give an average annual tax cut of $32,118 for those in the top 1 percent (family income over approximately $750,000 a year) and an average annual tax cut of $314,266 for those in the top 0.1 percent (making more than $3.5 million a year). Meanwhile, working families will only get a few hundred dollars in tax cuts a year. Read her opening remarks here: “A budget is a reflection of our values, our priorities. What we view as the most important; and who we view as the most important. This Republican reconciliation package is cruel. It makes steep cuts to Medicaid. Millions and millions of people will lose their healthcare because of these cuts. Rural hospitals across this country will close because they won’t be able to make their margins to stay open. Medicaid is that margin. “My Republican colleagues twice voted on the previous budget framework that made steep cuts to Medicaid. And they said over and over that there were not going to be cuts to Medicaid. “And yet here we are. My Republican colleagues are making cuts to Medicaid. And millions and millions of people will lose their healthcare. “But it’s not just a cruel budget. It’s also a cynical one. “Why? Why do I use the word cynical? Because these cuts to Medicaid AND the billions of dollars in cuts to food programs are being made to help pay for a massive tax break for the wealthiest in this country. Food and healthcare versus even more money for people who don’t need Medicaid or food assistance. So, yes, I think it’s cruel and I think it’s cynical. “And get this–despite being lectured repeatedly by Republicans about our country’s deficit, this bill actually adds trillions of dollars to the deficit. I’m serious. Trillions of dollars. “So people will lose healthcare. Kids and veterans will go hungry. Rural hospitals face closures. And the very rich will get even richer at the expense of our children and grandchildren who will shoulder the burden of the additional debt. “Americans overwhelmingly do not want cuts to Medicaid or to food programs. 81% And when we see the full impact—when folks realize what’s being done in their name—they will be outraged. Because it’s a betrayal. “Americans can’t pay their rent right now. Grocery prices are too high. Prescription drug prices are too high. And costs will get higher because of Trump’s stupid tariff regime. And small businesses are really struggling. This is Trump’s economy and it’s rigged against working people. “This budget is not for working people or the middle class. It’s not for folks living paycheck to paycheck. It’s not for rural communities where health outcomes are the worst. “Our constituents are struggling. They feel that despite how hard they work, they can’t get ahead. They’re angry. They want fairness. They want a decent life for themselves and their families. We need to be their voices in this committee. “Let’s not add to the struggles of our people back home. They deserve so much better than this. And Americans are fed up with the way that they are being treated.” Watch her full remarks here. ### |