Pappas to Vote Against Republican Budget Proposal to Slash Health Care and Food Programs, Cut Taxes for Billionaires

Resolution paves the way for GOP to add $4 trillion to the national debt while ripping away health care from over 200,000 Granite Staters and ending Medicaid expansion in NH

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) released the following statement before voting against H. Con. Res. 14, the House Republicans’ budget proposal:

“This cruel and fiscally reckless budget will take away health care and food assistance from tens of thousands of hard-working Granite Staters and add upwards of $4 trillion to the national debt, all so Republicans in Washington can reward the wealthiest Americans with new tax breaks. I will be voting no today on behalf of the hundreds of constituents who have contacted my office to voice their opposition to this bill. That includes a woman from Ossipee who fears cuts to Medicaid and other programs could leave her homeless. She is a caretaker for both her aging mother and a terminally ill child and worries that her husband’s income won’t be enough to support their family if they lose Medicaid coverage. I will continue to do everything I can to stop a budget that places the burden of these cuts on New Hampshire families like hers. I hope my colleagues will stand up against this betrayal of working families and instead focus on how we can work together to make life more affordable for Americans.”

Background:

Republicans’ H. Con. Res. 14 establishes budget toplines that would force deep cuts to health care and food programs for working families to cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

This legislation would harm our health care system and the well-being of children and seniors by placing the burden of $880 billion in cuts, more than half of the total funding Republicans are eliminating, directly on the committee that oversees Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and more.

These cuts would jeopardize health care coverage for 13.4% of all Granite Staters, 30.1% of all New Hampshire children, and 64% of residents living in nursing homes. Approximately 68,000 Medicaid beneficiaries living in New Hampshire’s first district would be at risk of losing their health care coverage, and another 34,000 people who receive coverage under the ACA would see their average premiums go up by $640 per year, a 26% increase, with many seeing a more than a 100% increase in premiums. Another 18,500 people in the district who rely on SNAP would be at risk of losing food assistance, even as President Trump continues to threaten tariffs that would raise prices at the grocery store.

Additionally, if the federal match for Medicaid expansion benefits is reduced, one-third of New Hampshire's Medicaid beneficiaries would lose coverage due to the state’s Medicaid expansion trigger clause. This would end the program that has lowered New Hampshire’s uninsured rate and been an invaluable tool in fighting the addiction crisis.