Republicans called the House Rules Committee into session just after midnight on Wednesday, hoping they could force Congress to pass the Trump administration’s deep cuts to Medicaid, housing and food aid before dawn. They hoped no one would notice.
But we did notice, so we showed up. People’s Action and People’s Action Institute members from a dozen states were on the Capitol’s steps, in the rain and in the dead of night, alongside Democratic members of Congress who, like us, oppose these cuts.
“They’re trying to initiate the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of this country, from the working poor and the working class to the billionaires and megacorporations,” said U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Florida), who stood in solidarity with our members, along with Mike Thompson (D-California), and Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.)
“Republicans know that this big, ugly, evil bill is completely not popular – and that is why they’re doing this hearing, the final hurdle, to getting it on the floor in the middle of the night,” Frost added.
Hundreds of People’s Action and People’s Action Institute members and allies came to D.C. on May 20 and 21 to demand their representatives in Congress vote no to the Trump budget reconciliation bill, which will eliminate health care for nearly 14 million people, and increase the deficit by $3.8 trillion with tax breaks for the wealthy. Nearly all Republican representatives have refused to meet with their constituents at Town Halls, or even acknowledge the harm these cuts will cause to families in their home districts.
“Don’t tell me that my kids should be without health care so that rich people can have more money,” said Amy Thompson from Missouri Jobs with Justice. “I cannot look at their faces if I did not do all I could.”
“No cuts to Medicaid, no work requirements, none of it!” said Marissa Hallo, who came to D.C. from Colorado with other members of the Center for Health Progress. “It is going to affect all of us, and it’s going to increase medical debt in our communities. And so it is super heartbreaking to me to know so many of us are here tonight.”
“We’re out here at one in the morning because they’re trying to hide cutting Medicaid from the people who need it,” said Mike Walsh of Progressive Maryland. “I know millions of people depend on it every single day for their medicine, for food, for healthy food…it is so sad to see that they’re doing this so late and hiding behind the darkness.”
“Medicaid means, to me, that we’re doing the mission of a good society,” said Tim Fogleman from the Maine People’s Alliance. “We need to be improving this system, not dismantling it.”
On March 20, People’s Action and People’s Action Institute members joined U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) and Summer Lee (D-Penn.) at a press conference on Capitol Hill with Popular Democracy and Right To The City to draw attention to the harms these cuts will cause to those who rely on federal housing assistance.
“We don’t have to sugarcoat this – we are in a housing crisis,” said Congresswoman Lee. “We are being told that this lifeline, these very basic protections, are on the chopping block so that billionaires can get yet another tax break–so that Trump and his billionaire friends can pretend that they are balancing a budget, while they are evicting our people.”
“I am here today because I know these cuts will hurt my family and more specifically, my community,” said Liz Hoyos from Community Voices Heard Power in East Harlem, New York. “These cuts will embolden slumlords like ours, and I’m not going to let that happen.”
On Wednesday morning, People’s Action and People’s Action Institute members were joined by members of Congressional Progressive Caucus, including Caucus Chair U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) for a press conference about the impact these cuts will have on health care.
“We knew that this Trump Republican plan would be the biggest Medicaid cut in American history,” said Casar. “But what we found out last night, when we brought this to the light, is that this bill also includes the biggest Medicare cut in American history. Millions of Americans will lose their health care and millions more will face huge increases in the price of their health care.”
“Three quarters of Americans, regardless of their political affiliation, oppose cuts to Medicaid,” said Carolyn Martinez-Class from Citizen Action of New York. “There is not a single place in this country where people support cutting Medicaid. Every Congressional district in every state opposes these cuts. That’s why Congressional leaders are using sneaky, underhanded tactics like calling for votes in the middle of the night.”
Before and after these press conferences, our members sought to meet with their representatives to demand they vote no on the cuts. Except for U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-In.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), no Republican lawmakers would speak directly with their constituents, and while these two listened, neither Young or Collins would commit to using their votes to defend Medicaid or other essential programs.
“It is very cruel to go after people’s essential health care. People need these services in order to provide for their families; I need these services and to help me provide for my family,” said Jaxenia Weeks from Citizen Action of New York, who traveled from Staten Island to meet with her representative, Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), who supports the cuts. “I find it very concerning that the federal government is acting this way. This is not a government acting with empathy. They are putting their people in harm’s way to give a tax cut to the richest people in this country.”