03 Jul House Narrowly Passes Budget Bill, Stripping Health and Food Safety Nets

(United States House of Representatives or Office of the Speaker of the House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Sunita Sohrabji, American Community Media

On a 218-214 vote, with almost all members voting along party lines, the House July 3 passed the sweeping budget bill, in time to meet President Donald Trump’s deadline.

Trump was expected to sign the bill at 5 pm Eastern. The White House issued an emailed statement: “President Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill delivers on the commonsense agenda that nearly 80 million Americans voted for – the largest middle-class tax cut in history, permanent border security, massive military funding, and restoring fiscal sanity.”

“The pro-growth policies within this historic legislation are going to fuel an economic boom like we’ve never seen before. President Trump looks forward to signing the One Big, Beautiful Bill into law to officially usher in the Golden Age of America.”

‘People Will Die’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries attempted to delay the vote by speaking on the House floor for more than 8 1/2 hours. “I rise today in strong opposition to Donald Trump’s disgusting abomination that guts Medicaid, rips food from the mouths of children, seniors and veterans, and rewards billionaires with massive tax breaks. People will die,” he said in an impassioned speech.

BREAKING NEWS: REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES HAS JUST COMPLETED HIS SPEECH – BREAKING THE RECORD BY SPEAKING MORE THAN 8 HOURS AND 32 MINUTES, THE LONGEST SPEECH EVER ON THE FLOOR OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’S HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. pic.twitter.com/j8CN82QeGt

— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) July 3, 2025

Only two Republicans voted against the measure: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Fitzpatrick said in a statement that he was unhappy with the Senate amendments to the measure, particularly with steeper cuts to Medicaid.

Critics have assailed the omnibus measure, which — in its final version — strips $1 trillion from Medicaid, and is expected to increase the number of uninsured people to almost 12 million, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. The measure also cuts $189 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Funding Priorities

The bill also gives a boost to fossil fuel companies, while phasing out tax credits for renewable energy. It also dramatically increases funding for border security.

High net-worth households will receive tax breaks amounting to 4.5 trillion over the next 5 years.

American Community Media will hold a news briefing July 11, 11-12 pm Pacific Time, unpacking key provisions of the budget bill. The livestream can be viewed on the ACoM website.

No Tax on Tips

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a statement to reporters two minutes after the House vote. “The ‘One, Big, Beautiful Bill’ will unleash the full potential of the U.S. economy. It locks in permanent, pro-growth tax cuts for families, workers, and job creators,” he wrote.

“The bill also enacts No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, and new tax cuts for seniors. The OBBB will strengthen important programs for those who need them most and save taxpayer dollars by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse.”

“This consequential legislation cements the blue-collar boom and improves the lives of Americans on every rung of the economic ladder. As we saw after the passage of the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts, American businesses will hire, invest, and raise wages now that this Administration and the Republican Congress have delivered certainty and stability for the economy,” wrote Bessent.

‘Moral Failure,’ Says Newsom

But California Governor Gavin Newsom characterized the bill as a “moral failure.”

“The President and his MAGA enablers are ripping care from cancer patients, meals from children, and money from working families — just to give tax breaks to the ultra-rich. With this measure, Donald J. Trump’s legacy is now forever cemented: he has created a more unequal, more indebted, and more dangerous America. Shame on him,” wrote Newsom in a press statement.

Rep. Grace Meng, D-New York, excoriated the passage of the bill. “President Trump and congressional Republicans just rammed through one of the worst pieces of legislation in American history. This nightmare of a bill kicks 17 million people off their health insurance, takes food away from 45 million Americans — including children, seniors, and veterans —and explodes the national debt by $4 trillion, all to fund tax cuts for billionaires.”

“Every single Republican who voted to take food away from children, to rip health care away from seniors, and to sell out working families for billionaires should be ashamed of themselves. The American people will not forget this betrayal,” she said.

‘A Blow to Children’

UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguia said 45% of America’s children rely on Medicaid and are now in danger of losing coverage. The impact is especially devastating for the Latino American community, she said, noting that more than 4 million Latinos could lose health insurance.

“The bill also targets Latino students and families trying to build a better future, as Congress voted to end the Child Tax Credit for 2.6 million U.S. citizen children simply because their parents are undocumented. And it slashes higher education support, eliminating critical programs for first-generation college students and potentially tripling student loan payments for over 5 million Latinos,” said Murguia.

“These are the choices this Congress made — choices that the American electorate did not vote for and whose harms will echo for generations. We will not forget this moment,” she stated.