By Lauren Burke

After a record number of consecutive votes over two consecutive nights, the Republican controlled U.S. Senate passed President Trump’s budget bill that includes the largest cut to food assistance in history. The bill also threatens health care coverage for over 15 million Americans. “This is a reversal of so much progress we’ve had. Under Biden-Harris, we reduced childhood poverty in half, this rolls that back,” said Jotaka Eaddy, the founder of Win With Black Women. “This bill takes health care away from 16 million Americans,” State of the People founder Angela Rye pointed out. The two were on a marathon State of the People broadcast that featured Black religious, political, and community leaders. The Senate passed Trump’s budget bill with the assistance of a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance. The legislation now goes to the U.S. House.

President Trump is focused on undoing the work of President Biden. The legislation passed by the Senate repeals the Inflation Reduction Act and cuts the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPS) that provides low-cost health coverage to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford private insurance. President Trump is also focused on giving a tax cut to the wealthiest Americans in the country. “Republicans jammed through a partisan megabit that slashes Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other critical programs,” wrote Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) after the vote.

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“Republicans have jammed through a cruel and callous bill that will rip health care and food assistance away from millions of Americans. All so Donald Trump can give massive tax breaks to his billionaire donors. It’s a gutting betrayal of working-class Americans,” stated Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) after the bill passed The legislation extends the 2017 tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the rich, it overhauls who is eligible for Medicaid and food stamps, adds paperwork that is likely to reduce program eligibility, and it phases out green energy tax credits. The bill also adds 4.5 trillion to the debt, according to most estimates.

Three Republican Senators voted against the bills: Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC). “My hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet,” Sen. Murkowski said after voting for the bill. Though there are members in the Republican House Freedom Caucus who don’t agree with aspects of the legislation, it is likely to pass.

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