Virginia Republicans vote for bill to enrich the wealthy, punish the working-class

“These cuts mean less screening for cancer, more healthcare deserts – not just for those with Medicaid and Medicare, but for people with private insurance too as clinics are forced to close,” said Glen Harris, a former nurse and Chesapeake resident.

All five Republicans representing Virginians in Congress voted to approve President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that extends tax cuts for the rich by taking healthcare and food away from millions of Americans. 

The US House passed early Thursday morning a far-reaching bill that cuts taxes for the wealthy and corporations while making massive cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, education, and clean energy programs. The legislation, which now heads to the US Senate, would increase the federal debt and leave millions of Americans uninsured. 

By one analysis, the legislation would result in a massive transfer of wealth from America’s poorest to the country’s richest. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan federal agency, the legislation would result in the lowest-income 10% of households losing household resources by about 2% of their income by 2027. That’s in part because the legislation would cut about $698 billion in federal spending from Medicaid and another $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, a low-income food assistance program. 

Meanwhile, the top 10% of households would see their household resources grow by 4% by 2027 largely due to the reduction in taxes they owe, according to the CBO.  

If enacted, the legislation would result in an estimated 262,000 Virginians losing the health care they get through the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid. Over a million Virginians rely on Medicaid, 37% of whom are children. And 827,000 Virginians get SNAP benefits, with 67% of the SNAP recipients being families with children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The legislation had been debated for months, with Democrats, state advocacy groups, and everyday Virginians warning about the damaging consequences of the spending cuts. But with Republicans in control of Congress, it was largely up to them to decide the fate of the legislation. 

Virginia Republicans like Rep. Jen Kiggans and Rep. Rob Wittman ultimately fell in line with the party to advance the legislation. The other three Virginia Republicans to back the legislation were Rep. Ben Cline, Rep. John McGuire, and Rep. Morgan Griffith. 

“These cuts mean less screening for cancer, more healthcare deserts – not just for those with Medicaid and Medicare, but for people with private insurance too as clinics are forced to close,” Glen Harris, a former nurse and Chesapeake resident, said in a statement released by Affordable Virginia. “These cuts could be a death sentence to hundreds.”

The bill, which is being advanced using a special process called budget reconciliation, now heads to the Senate, where it just needs a simple majority to pass under reconciliation rules.