Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025
Floor Speech
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this Republican budget resolution.
Make no mistake about it, this budget will lead to millions of Americans losing their healthcare coverage, all so Republicans can give giant tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. The only group that wants these tax breaks is Wall Street, not the average American.
Mr. Chair, if Republicans pass this resolution today, we will be forced to cut a minimum of nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, our Nation's largest healthcare program.
For those who are saying that somehow the Medicaid program has a lot of waste, let me remind us that Medicaid is the leanest Federal healthcare program. Every independent study says that Medicaid is financially sound, the most financially sound Federal healthcare program.
The consequences of these cuts will be devastating. Medicaid provides healthcare to one in three Americans, nearly half of the children in the United States, and it is the largest source of funding for nursing homes for seniors and people living with disabilities.
This is a lifesaving program for 80 million Americans. They count on it every day. Yet, today, House Republicans are unnecessarily rushing forward with a budget resolution that will impose the largest healthcare cuts in our Nation's history.
Millions of people will lose their healthcare, but that is just the beginning. Healthcare prices will sharply rise. Hospitals, particularly those in underserved and rural communities, will be forced to close-- so, too, will nursing homes. Seniors will lose the care that they rely on, and doctors and nurses will be laid off. Emergency rooms will once again be overflowing, as people are forced to delay care until absolutely necessary. States will be bankrupted and forced to make painful cuts to important healthcare services. This is the reality, not what the Republicans are telling you.
Mr. Chair, it doesn't have to be this way. If just a few of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle take a stand today, we can stop this from happening.
I implore my Republican colleagues to think about the harm, the devastating harm that will be done to their communities if this budget resolution is adopted. Stand up. I urge my colleagues to think twice and vote ``no.''
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