May 16, 2025

GOP Budget and Tax Plan Advances in the House of Representatives

The House of Representatives moved closer to a final vote on its so-called “big, beautiful bill” tax and spending plan this week.

As of today, the plan calls for $715 billion in cuts to Medicaid and $300 billion in cuts to food assistance programs. It also includes $3.7 trillion in tax cuts and a debt ceiling increase.

The scale of the health care cuts and tax breaks for the wealthy spawned strong opposition on Capitol Hill. More than 25 people, including several in wheelchairs, were arrested for “illegally
demonstrating” as the House Energy and Commerce Committee debated cuts to Medicaid.

Twenty-five percent of the tax cuts go to the top 1 percent of Americans. In addition, the bill includes tax breaks for off-shoring jobs, subsidies for private school tuition, ends investments in
clean energy, increases spending on border security, and adds $3.87 trillion over 10 years to the budget deficit.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA) says he will bring the package for a floor vote next week. But Senate Republicans on Wednesday signaled that they intend to revise the legislation.

“I think we’ve assumed all along that the Senate would have its input on this,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (SD). “Obviously, there’s 53 Republican senators who want to have their own
thoughts and ideas incorporated.”

“This fight is not over by a long shot,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Members of Congress are feeling the pressure and we need to make sure everyone knows that
cuts of this magnitude will hurt the millions of older Americans who rely on Medicaid to pay for prescriptions, home care services, and nursing home care.”

ACTION NEEDED: Click here to send a message to your member of Congress demanding they vote against any Medicaid cuts.

This was originally published in the May 16, 2025 edition of the Friday Alert. Read the full length version and see other Friday Alert editions here.