WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05), issued the following statement on H.R. 1, which passed out of the House of Representatives, 215 to 214 to 1, on Thursday, May 22, 2025:
“Today, I cast my vote against the most destructive bill I have witnessed during my tenure in Congress. The House Republican budget bill was jammed through by the Republican majority, under immense pressure from President Trump and with reckless speed. This legislation is a profound betrayal of the American people.
“The staggering $792 billion in cuts to Medicaid are a direct assault on the 78.5 million Americans, including children, seniors in nursing homes, pregnant women, and people with disabilities and chronic conditions, who rely on this vital program. States are being set up for impossible choices: either absorb massive new costs shifted by the federal government or be forced to drop coverage for some of the most vulnerable, like pregnant women. Furthermore, provisions that penalize states for minor documentation errors will inevitably lead to more eligible individuals being denied care through unnecessary, bureaucratic red tape.
“This legislation is an attack on vulnerable Americans that not only applies to healthcare, it rips away $313 billion from agriculture and nutrition programs, jeopardizing access to food assistance for 42 million Americans. It also launches an unprecedented assault of food security by proposing to shift a significant portion of SNAP food benefits costs from the federal government to states. It pushes enormous costs onto already financially strapped state governments, forcing them into impossible choices between cutting essential services like public safety and education, raising taxes, or most likely, slashing food benefits for their residents.
“In Connecticut, 391,200 people, including 117,000 children and 81,000 seniors, received SNAP benefits last year, totaling $893 million. If Connecticut were forced to cover just 10% of these benefits, it would cost the state $89 million – the equivalent of 33 million meals – an unbearable burden. As Connecticut food banks, already struggling to meet the current demand that saw them distribute an estimated 46 million meals last year, have made clear: any reduction in food assistance, especially with persistently higher grocery prices, will lead to more families facing hunger. They simply lack the resources to fill the gap created by these federal cuts.
“I joined my House Democrat colleagues in the House Rules Committee and introduced an amendment to protect SNAP benefits from being cut from the Republican budget plan. After the Republican majority voted down my amendment, I took the House Floor to oppose the consideration of this legislation.
“I vehemently condemn this bill and the unconscionable process that produced it. The House Republican Party has chosen to jeopardize the health and well-being of millions to advance a narrow, partisan agenda. I urge the Senate to stand against this cruelty, reject this bill, and prioritize the actual needs of the American people.”
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