Newark: New Jersey Citizen Action Health Care Program Director Laura Waddell released the following statement today on the passage of the GOP bill that will upend our health care system to enable tax breaks for billionaires:
“We’re shocked that Representatives Tom Kean Jr., Chris Smith, and Jeff Van Drew voted for a bill that will prove devastating for so many of their constituents so that billionaires can enjoy a tax break and the Trump administration can continue its war on immigrants and people of color. This ‘big, beautiful bill’ is anything but; it upends our federal health care programs and our social safety net, which are critical for the well-being of the working poor throughout our country.
“This legislation will deprive millions of Medicaid recipients of healthcare and drive up healthcare costs for millions more, as services become scarce and hospitals are forced to close. It will take away food assistance for countless working families and their children. The bill will add so much money to the national debt that it will force across-the-board spending cuts to Medicare, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
“We thank Representatives Herb Conaway, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Josh Gottheimer, LaMonica McIver Robert Menendez, Donald Norcross, Frank Pallone, Nellie Pou, and Mikie Sherrill for their “NO” vote and for standing by the 1.8 million New Jerseyans who rely on Medicaid for health care services, the more than 800,000 New Jerseyans who rely on SNAP, the more than 500,000 New Jerseyans enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, and the 1.7 million state residents covered by Medicare.
“We call on the US Senate to vote down this legislation and for all New Jerseyans to raise their voices against it. We especially urge New Jersey elected officials at every level to sound the alarm; this bill will disrupt our state budget and do immense harm to communities throughout our state.”