WASHINGTON, DC – Today, following a vote of 51-50, U.S. Senator Jack Reed issued the following statement assailing Senate passage of Republicans’ ‘big, ugly’ reconciliation budget bill:

“Rhode Islanders care about rising costs but Trump and this Republican Congress don’t care about costs.  Instead, they’re passing a huge tax giveaway for the wealthiest, slashing healthcare for millions, and adding trillions to the debt.  Future generations will be paying for this destructive, fiscally irresponsible monstrosity long after Donald Trump is gone.  This bill takes from the needy and gives to greedy special interests.

“Congress should help lower costs and improve health care, not rip it away from millions of families and explode the deficit in order to give special tax treatment to billionaires and millionaires.

“The Trump-Republican bill will contribute to higher health care prices, bigger bureaucratic hurdles, and shift heavier financial burdens onto working families, seniors, hospitals, and state and local governments.

“Budgets are about priorities, and it’s clear Republicans prioritized the wealthiest at the expense of the working-class.  The big tax advantages go to the rich while all the cruelest cuts hit people struggling to pay for rent, food, health care, and energy bills.

“This shameful bill is fiscally irresponsible and short-sighted.  It will force future generations to pick up the tab and sacrifices their economic future for a short-term money grab for the wealthy.

“Many seniors, veterans, and children from low-income families will lose their health coverage due to the Republican vote.  Of course, not everyone will lose their coverage right away or feel the impact evenly.  But make no mistake: the cuts in this bill will cause higher premiums, hospital closures, crowded emergency rooms, and longer wait times, and it will add more burdens to state budgets.

“Trump’s MAGA grift machine took full advantage of his own supporters.  Many won’t realize how bad this bill truly is until it’s too late and the safety net is no longer there when they need it. 

“Congressional Republicans carved out big breaks for Big Oil polluters, while making it harder for families trying to send their kids to college.  The super-rich were granted a higher, permanent exemption of the estate tax so affluent couples can bequeath $30 million tax free to their heirs. Meanwhile the bill will make it harder to find a quality, affordable nursing home for seniors.  It undermines public education, gives gun manufactures a $1.7 billion tax break, and spends $40 million on a vanity sculpture garden for Donald Trump.  

“This isn’t the end of the fight.  We’ve got to work even harder to limit the damage and then reverse it in the years ahead.”