Last week, Republicans voted for a budget that slashes Medicaid, SNAP and retirement benefits — all to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.
Under their plan, the richest 0.1% would receive an average annual tax cut of $314,266. Yet, the average American would see no benefits, and in fact, would pay more for health care, food, housing and other essential expenses.
Every single Democrat voted against this plan. Unfortunately, every single Republican but one voted for it and for brutal cuts to our country’s most popular safety net programs. They voted against the well-being of their own constituents.
The Senate passed their own version of the budget resolution, which means the House and Senate will need to reconcile the two versions. So, Republicans have another chance to do the right thing and correct their mistake. We only need three House Republicans to join Democrats in doing what’s best for Americans. Just three.
This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This is an American issue. One in 2 nursing home patients’ care is paid for by Medicaid. In Indianapolis, there are 255,148 Medicaid recipients now at risk of losing their coverage, which includes 122,313 children and 17,000 seniors.
Medicaid is especially crucial to the Black community. While Black Americans make up 12 percent of our total population, we make up 21% of Medicaid enrollees. That translates to 20 million Black people receiving lifesaving health care, including older adults, those with disabilities, and pregnant women.
I’ve written many times that addressing Black health disparities is essential in the ongoing fight for civil rights. During the pandemic, Black Americans were hospitalized at higher rates than any other group, and we are more likely to develop conditions or have worse outcomes for those conditions, including diabetes and multiple types of cancer. In Indianapolis, the number of residents suffering from high blood pressure and premature deaths, including from cardiovascular disease, is above the national average. The reasons are complex and systemic, resulting from multiple legal, economic and social factors. We are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured than our white counterparts.
We need to expand Medicaid to close these gaps, not slash this health safety net. The flawed rhetoric that government should be run like a business ignores their completely different purposes: Business is built to make profits. Government is designed for the common good — to help take care of our people.
Yes, we can improve programs to make them more efficient, but firing and demonizing hundreds of thousands of public servants — is the wrong way to go. Slashing SNAP and nutrition assistance like Meals on Wheels for seniors is the wrong way to go.
Making these devastating cuts to our safety net, just to pay for more big tax cuts for billionaires, is wrong — plain and simple.
Too many Republicans are bowing to President Donald Trump’s threats. I urge my Republican colleagues: do what’s best for your constituents and vote against cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Side with the Hoosiers who elected you — not Trump and an unelected billionaire. Medicaid is more important than MAGA.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard from thousands of you. Your message is clear: you are alarmed by the consequences of an unelected billionaire running our government. You absolutely oppose any cuts to programs like Medicaid, SNAP and retirement benefits to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. You know that the real threat to our country isn’t diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — it’s the systemic dismantling and defunding of programs ordinary Americans rely on.
Our country faces a constitutional crisis, where court orders to restore funding are ignored. But we will not let our rights be disrespected or stripped away by an unelected Afrikaner billionaire. I’m fighting for you in Congress with everything I have and with your help.
I’m inspired and fired up hearing all your calls and messages: We’re fighting together. Americans are calling Congressional offices and making your voices heard — keep it up. We only need three House Republicans to find the courage to vote against MAGA and extreme cuts to essential safety net programs. Indiana’s two Republican senators need to do what’s best for Hoosiers, not what’s best for Trump.
I will continue to expose MAGA’s hypocrisy. They are deliberately creating chaos to steal money from hardworking Americans to give it to themselves and their billionaire friends. Democrats are not distracted by the chaos. We are united in our fight against Trump’s tyranny with our unanimous vote against their cruel budget.
We have the power to derail MAGA’s extreme agenda when we stand together.
