President’s Message by Jeanna Harris
Last week, literally like thieves in the night, House Republicans passed a sweeping budget reconciliation bill, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”. Despite the name, there is nothing “Beautiful” here folks. This dangerous agenda steals more tax dollars for the wealthy while gutting essential services for working families, vulnerable communities, and public institutions. Yes, I understand that has slowly been happening for decades but my biggest fear is that if passed, we will not be able to get it back for many decades to come unless we have a massive shift in our national leadership.
So, what does this 1,116 page bill mean for us? (Just a few key points)
• Tax cuts for the wealthy, again (not surprising) The bill extends Trump-era tax cuts and adds new breaks like exemptions for overtime and tipped income but the biggest winners are still corporations and high earners. These giveaways come at a steep cost, $3.8 trillion dollars to be more precise, that will be passed down for generations.
• Deep cuts could be coming to Medicare, Medi-Cal (Medicaid) and SNAP (Cal-Fresh). I’m a clinical case manager in my day job and I have been watching this closely so I know how I can provide guidance to my patients. To offset those tax breaks, the bill slashes hundreds of billions dollars from Medicaid and food assistance. Millions of people, especially low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities could lose access to vital care and nutrition. It also includes a work requirement or as its stated a “community engagement requirement” for able-bodied Medicaid recipients. Some may think that isn’t so bad, however, what is bad is when there aren’t investments in staffing the agencies responsible for managing these new requirements. This means reporting delays and people being cut from benefits even if they met the requirement. Trust me, it already happens and it takes even longer to re-enroll, which causes delays in care, overwhelms ERs, and adds more strain to a healthcare system that is already crumbling. It also attempts to erase gender affirming care. Overall, it’s a cruel rollback of the safety net at a time when inequality is already sky-high. There are ways to improve the efficiency of these programs which will result in cost savings BUT THIS ISN’T IT. This is just more evidence of the out-of-touch leadership running our country.
• More funding for border militarization $150 billion is earmarked for immigration enforcement, detention centers, and border walls. This means more raids, more family separations, and more trauma inflicted on immigrant communities. America has drifted far from the vision Emma Lazarus saw when she wrote “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” which is from the poem “The Great Colossus” inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.
• Cuts to education & public servants The bill undermines access to higher education by taxing colleges and slashing student aid. Say goodbye to subsidized loans. It also cuts federal employee retirement benefits, targeting public workers who keep our institutions running, which is dumb on their part because those are the folks that keep things going in Washington as well.
• Adds $3.8 trillion to the deficit This is a key point to drive home. Despite the rhetoric about “fiscal responsibility,” this bill would bal-loon the deficit by nearly $4 trillion over a decade. Meanwhile, we are here wondering if having a nice dinner out is too much of a splurge on our budget. Every person that voted on this bill should be called out for being more liberal with spending than any “Liberal” could ever be.
What happens next The bill now heads to the Senate, where it faces major hurdles but that does not mean it will not get railroaded through in the middle of the night. Now is the time for Democrats in all levels of government to get loud, be radical, and truly stand up by any means necessary against this tyranny before it is too late. It’s time to separate daring leaders from the status quo with titles.
How can you help? Let’s flood the Senate switchboards and make sure they know that WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND a federal budget that reflects our values: care over cruelty, equity over greed, and solidarity over scapegoating. We will not allow our hard-earned tax dollars to fund yachts for the oligarchs!
Lastly, I want to thank you for reading this far. Most folks would’ve glazed over by now but since I have your attention, I want to have you save the date for our annual CCDC 4th of July BBQ—which will be on July 4, from noon to 3pm, at Blanco Park! We will also have a table at the Culver City Pride rally on June 28.
Keep Standing Up, Keep Fighting Back!