In Washington state, at least 328,695 people will lose health care under Republican bill; 900,000 Washingtonians could see SNAP benefits reduced or eliminated; 14 rural hospitals will be at risk of closure
ICYMI: Senator Murray Statement on Senate Republicans’ Passage of Big, Ugly Bill
ICYMI: In Senate Floor Speech, Murray Rails Against Republican Bill That Rips Away Health Care, Nutrition Assistance, Abortion Access & Balloons National Debt to Fund Tax Cuts for Billionaires; VIDEO HERE
ICYMI: On Senate Floor, Murray Again Slams Republicans for Using Deceptive Tactics to Hide True Cost of Deficit-Busting Tax Cuts for Billionaires
ICYMI: Republicans Block Murray Amendment to Stop Republicans’ Big Ugly Betrayal Bill From Defunding Planned Parenthood
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on House Republicans passing the partisan Republican reconciliation bill—the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—by a vote of 218-214 on Thursday afternoon. On Tuesday, Senator Murray voted against the legislation in the Senate; where it passed 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance voting with Republicans to break the tie. The legislation now heads to President Trump’s desk.
“Republicans’ Big, Ugly Betrayal Bill is the largest transfer of wealth from people who have the least, to the people who have the most, in our nation’s history. This bill is un-American and flat-out wrong.
“It’s impossible to overstate how devastating the Republican legislation will be for the millions of struggling families who will pay for these billionaire tax breaks with deep cuts to their health care and nutrition benefits, while getting essentially nothing in return. 17 million Americans will lose their health insurance under this bill, including more than 328,000 people in Washington state who rely on Apple Health and Affordable Care Act coverage. 40 million Americans will see their grocery costs go up as the SNAP benefits they rely on to feed their families disappear. By defunding Planned Parenthood, this bill is a step toward Republicans’ dystopian plan for a Backdoor Nationwide Abortion Ban where women can’t get the health care they need, no matter what state they live in.
“Republicans’ bill also makes detrimental and utterly shortsighted cuts to clean energy tax credits, raising families’ energy bills and eliminating millions of manufacturing jobs across the country. Countless farmers in Eastern and Central Washington are relying on these tax credits to help power their farms, and these cuts will raise their energy costs and undermine their ability to expand their businesses and invest back in their communities.
“Republicans chose to ignore every warning about how terrible this bill really is and force it through, over the objections of Democrats and even members of their own party, for no other reason than because Trump said so. In the end, the American people will have their voices heard and will show Republicans exactly how they feel about this monstrous bill at the ballot box.”
Senate passage came after an overnight “vote-a-rama” where Democrats forced Republicans to take dozens of tough votes on a wide array of issues, from protecting rural hospitals to preserving food assistance for families to extending expiring tax credits that help millions of families afford health care. And the nearly 30-hour vote-a-rama came after Senate Democrats forced more than 10 hours of debate and a full reading of every word of Republicans’ 940-page bill. During vote-a-rama, Senator Murray put forward an amendment to strike a provision of the legislation that achieves anti-abortion extremists’ long-sought goal of “defunding” Planned Parenthood by cutting off Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving federal Medicaid funding for the care they provide for millions of low-income women across the country—including birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and wellness exams. Republicans blocked the amendment, 51-49.
On Sunday, Senator Murray delivered a lengthy speech on the Senate floor where she laid out in detail how Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act will rip away health care from millions of Americans, shutter the doors of hospitals and health care clinics across the country, make the largest cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in history, and blow up the national debt—all so Republicans can fund massive tax breaks for billionaires. Murray also spoke out repeatedly during debate on the Senate floor against Republicans’ use of a so-called “current policy baseline” to hide the true cost of their deficit-busting tax cuts for billionaires.
Republicans’ 940-page bill, which they released in the dead of night, cuts more than $900 billion from Medicaid—$100 billion more than the House bill. That means about 17 million Americans will lose their health care, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and more than 300 rural hospitals and over 500 nursing homes could close because of the legislation. The legislation makes the largest cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in history and will rip away nutrition assistance entirely from more than 5 million Americans and shift tens of billions of dollars in costs to states. The legislation also increases the debt by nearly $4 trillion dollars—nearly a trillion more than the House bill. About two in three Americans oppose the bill.
In Washington state, 1.95 million people rely on Apple Health, Washington state’s Medicaid program, and over 300,000 Washingtonians access coverage through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace (Washington Healthplanfinder). The Joint Economic Committee estimates that at least 328,695 people in Washington state would lose their health insurance under the Republican legislation—that includes 198,050 people who would be kicked off Medicaid and 108,262 people who would lose their coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Among other things, Republicans’ bill would institute work reporting requirements for Medicaid, which have been proven not to increase employment and just strip health care coverage from people who are already working or exempt—this would put more than 620,000 Washingtonians at risk of losing their health care coverage or having it delayed. Fourteen rural hospitals in Washington state would be at risk of closure under the Republican bill. The legislation also “defunds” Planned Parenthood for the next year, threatening the closure of up to 200 health centers across the country—90 percent of them in states where abortion is legal. 11 percent of Washington state residents rely on SNAP, and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services estimated that more than 900,000 people across the state could their see SNAP benefits reduced or eliminated under the House bill—the Senate bill is just as extreme.
Senator Murray has held constant recent events—including multiple events in Washington state—to sound the alarm on Republicans’ devastating reconciliation bill and encourage constituents to raise their voices and call on their Members of Congress to oppose the legislation.
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