CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN VOTES AGAINST REPUBLICAN “BIG UGLY BETRAYAL” THAT DRIVES UP COSTS, RIPS HEALTHCARE FROM HUDSON VALLEY FAMILIES TO FUND RECORD-BREAKING TAX CUTS FOR BILLIONAIRES
Congressman Pat Ryan Votes Against Republican “Big Ugly Betrayal” That Drives Up Costs, Rips Healthcare From Hudson Valley Families to Fund Record-Breaking Tax Cuts for Billionaires
Ryan calls bill a “Big Ugly Betrayal” of his constituents and the American people
Trump's agenda, which passed without a single Democratic vote, includes over a trillion dollars in cuts to essential programs Hudson Valley families rely on, including Medicaid and SNAP
It will have devastating impacts for families across the Hudson Valley: driving up food and healthcare costs for everyone, ripping away health insurance and food from kids and seniors, and closing hospitals
Additionally, the bill STILL increases the national debt by nearly 4 trillion dollars
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Pat Ryan released the following statement:
“Today, I voted strongly against this bill, which is a betrayal of my constituents and the American people. The bill is fundamentally unfair and un-American; and I am furious that it is now law. This ‘Big Ugly Betrayal’ is a triple–whammy: it makes devastating cuts to healthcare and food programs while driving up costs for everyone; gives massive tax breaks to big corporations and the ultra-rich instead of the middle class; and irresponsibly adds nearly $4 trillion to the national debt. Families will lose health care. Hospitals will close. Kids will go hungry. Energy prices will go up. All so the wealthiest 0.1% can get even richer,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “That’s not why I came to Congress. I believe that sick kids should have access to affordable, high-quality health care. I believe that seniors should never fear going hungry. I believe that every child deserves to drink clean water and breathe clean air, and I believe that we have a duty to fight for our veterans, just like they fought for us. I believe that these aren’t Democratic or Republican values, but values shared by every freedom-loving American. This bill is an affront to those values. People will die without health care. Our economy will suffer. At every step and on every level, we have to be fighting for the people and against anyone who would do them harm.”
“It is hard to identify a bill over the last few decades that does more damage to the American health care system than the Senate reconciliation bill. The bill cuts health care funding by a mind-numbing $1 trillion,” said Greater New York Hospital Association President Kenneth Raske. “In New York, we estimate that 1.5 million individuals will lose coverage. Cutting health insurance eligibility doesn’t stop people from getting sick and ultimately going to the hospital. But it does skyrocket hospitals’ uncompensated care costs.”
North America’s Building Trades Union (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey called the bill “a massive insult,” saying that, if passed, it stands to be “the biggest job-killing bill in the history of this country.” It threatens an estimated 1.75 million construction jobs and over 3 billion work hours, which translates to $148 billion in lost annual wages and benefits. “We are especially outraged,” McGarvey added, “because all of this, all of these job losses for hardworking Americans, is being done for one reason only: to make room for more tax breaks for the wealthiest corporations and individuals in America.”
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) President Kenneth Cooper called the bill “a direct attack on working families, shoveling tax breaks to the rich while turning its back on the people who power this country”:
“Make no mistake, this bill will cost hundreds of thousands of good-paying construction jobs, billions of work hours, and hundreds of billions in lost wages and economic benefits to America’s middle class,” Cooper said. “IBEW members and every average American will pay the price as congressional Republicans abandon critical investments in American infrastructure and the energy independence they have been tripping over themselves to take credit for the last few years.”
Republican Senators have recognized the massive harms set to be inflicted by Trump’s domestic policy as well; Senator Mitch McConnell acknowledged the 16 million Americans set to lose their health care, remarking “they’ll get over it.” But other Republicans have refused to support the legislation, citing inescapable truths:
“The facts matter. The people matter,” said Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina). “The Senate’s (changes to the bill) breaks promises and will kick people off of Medicaid who truly need it.” On the Senate floor, he asked “What do I tell 663,000 (in North Carolina) people in two years or three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding’s not there any more, guys?”
“My vote against this bill stems primarily from the harmful impact it will have on Medicaid, affecting low-income families and rural health care providers like our hospitals and nursing homes,” added Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Conservatives in both chambers are opposed to the bill, stating it will increase the national debt by trillions. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) called the House-passed bill a “debt bomb ticking,” while Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) blasted his colleagues’ “failure” to control spending in the Senate-passed version. “I won’t vote to increase the debt ceiling by $5 trillion,” said Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) before voting against the Senate bill. “Republicans can’t claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility while adding the largest debt increase in U.S. history. I won’t own that disaster.”
According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill adds at least $3.9 trillion to the national debt. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the legislation would add $5.3 trillion or more to the debt if made permanent.
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