Washington’s Congressional delegation in the House voted along party lines as the Republican majority voted for the landmark legislation Thursday.
The bill includes massive cuts to federal-funded health care and nutrition programs as well as tax cuts, and additional funding in several areas, including agriculture and immigration enforcement.
Republicans emphasized that the bill would eliminate unnecessary spending and provide tax cuts that will improve the lives of families and small businesses, while Democrats voiced concern over the negative impact of massive cuts to key health care and nutrition programs.
House Resolution 1, also known as the Big Beautiful Bill, passed with a vote of 218-214 in the House. The bill now goes to U.S. President Donald Trump for his signature.
"At the start of this Congress, we made a commitment to reduce government spending, keep taxes low for hard-working Americans, and make reforms to federal assistance programs to ensure their long-term sustainability,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-WA 4, in a written statement. “This is by no means a perfect bill, but it delivers on our commitment while benefiting farmers, families, and small business owners across central Washington.”
Joining Newhouse in voting for the bill was U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-WA 5, who expressed that the tax cuts would benefit working families and small businesses. All the Democrats in Washington’s Congressional delegation voted against the bill.
Washington’s Democratic representatives slammed the passage of the bill, stating concern that certain provisions, such as cuts and a new work requirement for Medicaid, the federally funded health insurance program, would negatively impact Washington residents, particularly residents in rural districts in Central and Eastern Washington.
“Republicans made one fundamental promise to Americans – they would lower costs, and this big, ugly bill is the ultimate betrayal of that promise,” said U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-WA 1. “It will make America more expensive by taking away health coverage, increasing hunger, and raising energy bills for millions of households.”
Other Democrats in the state, including Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, have expressed concern that hundreds of thousands of Washington residents may lose health insurance over the next decade with the planned cuts to Medicaid, called Apple Health in Washington. The program covers about 2 million people in Washington. Officials in the health care industry also stated that such cuts could lead to decreased health care services and potential closure of hospitals.
However, both Newhouse and Baumgartner said Medicaid cuts were necessary to eliminate wasteful spending and noted the inclusion of $50 billion in rural health care funding.
“I’m especially proud it includes $50 billion for rural health care — a longtime priority of mine since sponsoring the legislation to establish the WSU Medical School during my time in the State Senate,” Baumgartner said in a written statement. “Strengthening care in our communities has always been personal to me.”
Newhouse also maintains that he will work to prevent hospital closures through his work with the House Appropriations Committee.
While the focus on the bill has focused on cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that provides food benefits to low-income families, the bill includes new funding in several areas including immigration enforcement and makes permanent several tax cuts implemented in 2017 during Trump’s first administration.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of the 3rd Congressional District in southwest Washington said in a written statement that the tax benefit will primarily go to the top 0.1 percent of taxpayers and that low-income taxpayers will end up paying more. She also took note that the bill, as currently written, will result in an increase in the national debt by $4 trillion.
“Most of us want honest debate, compromise, and bipartisanship – not party favors for special interests and political parties,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a written statement. “But Washington, D.C. is way out of balance when only one party has control, and we all suffer for it.”
Other Democratic members drove home the negative impact of the bill and trashed Republicans for pushing for its passage:
• U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-WA 2, in a video message on his social medial channels, highlighted the impact the Medicaid cuts would have on medical facilities in his district. He stated that the cuts would impact facilities such as Planned Parenthood creating a “backdoor ban on abortions.”
• On Instagram, U.S. Rep. Emily Randall, D-WA 6, posted a video message stating she voted no for the “Big Shitty Bill.” Randall said she was worried about the impacts on the communities she represented but said she would continue to “keep fighting” for her constituents.
• U.S. Pramila Jayapal, D-WA 7, referred to the legislation as the “Big Bad Budget Betrayal” and stated the legislation will be “the largest-ever transfer of wealth from poor and working people to the richest, and every single district and state — red, blue, and purple — will feel the effects.
• U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, D-WA 8, expected cuts to Medicaid to cause reductions to key departments of hospitals, such as labor and delivery and negatively impact children dependent on federal health insurance. “Today, as I voted against this horrific bill, I thought of a constituent of mine, Ayla, a four-year-old who is alive today because the rural hospital where she was born, Kittitas Valley Healthcare could afford to have an Obstetrics Department and a Labor and Delivery unit,” she recalled in a news release. “Support for those services is only possible because of support from Medicaid.”
• U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-WA 9, called the bill “reckless” and “cruel.” “These cuts are about handing more power and more money to the wealthiest Americans while punishing working people. It’s cynical, it’s dangerous, and it’s wrong,” he said in a written statement posted on social media.
• U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-WA 10, called the passage of the legislation the “greatest, most cruel, scam in history” in a news release, stating that it would strip health care from millions of Americans and lead to the closure of hundreds of nursing homes and rural hospitals. “It is clear now, more than ever before – that Trump and these spineless House Republicans do not care for the American people. They only care about themselves,” she said.
