Washington, D.C. – This morning, working families and teachers from across the country joined Families Over Billionaires for a press call to speak out against the extreme budget proposal from House Republicans. These individuals – who are constituents of Republican Members of the House Budget Committee – were joined by several Members of Congress ahead of the House Budget Committee’s markup to explain how the Republicans’ budget resolution would hurt everyday Americans like them.
Complete audio of the call is available here.
See below for highlights from the press call:
Mary Beth Cochran, MomsRising Member and Constituent of Budget Committee Member Rep. Chuck Edwards:
“Nearly a decade ago I adopted 2 of my grandchildren, now ages 16 and almost 11, as their parents couldn’t care for them due to addiction. I also share custody of their 2 sisters, ages 15 and 11 with my youngest daughter, their aunt. […]
“Especially as the cost of food and energy continues to rise, my family is barely making it. Sometimes I have to choose which bills to pay or which essentials to cover. At times I’ve had to skip refilling my prescription medications so my grandkids wouldn’t have to skip meals. Right now, I’m terrified because Republican leaders seem poised to take critical resources away for me and my grandchildren. […]
“They’re proposing slashing funding for the free breakfast and lunches my grandkids eat at school 5 days a week. They say they’re wanting to cut out SNAP. But without SNAP, I don’t know how I’d put food on the table each day. I’ve even heard that Head Start is under threat. When I first got my grandkids, Head Start helped them flourish and come out of their shells while preparing them for kindergarten. […]
“I don’t understand why any lawmaker would threaten programs that make it possible for families to survive. But it is truly appalling to know these cuts are designed to make it possible for Republicans to cut taxes for billionaires and corporations.”
Mary Carol, Constituent of Budget Committee Member Rep. Lloyd Smucker:
“I taught in a local public school for 25 years before retiring, and I’ve resided in the 11th district for over 20 years, where Lloyd Smucker is our Congressman. I live in a small vibrant town in Pennsylvania and care deeply about my community. […]
“I never thought the day would come, though, when leaders who are supposed to be representing me, would be trying to cut funding from the schools I spent my life teaching in, or undermine programs that millions of our fellow seniors rely on. […] As a lifelong teacher, I can tell you these plans that Elon and Trump are suggesting would be devastating in communities like mine.”
Rep. Aguilar, Chair of the House Democratic Caucus:
“The Republican plan to gut Medicaid is going to make health care less accessible and more expensive in red states and blue states. Taking away SNAP benefits will take food off the table for mothers, children and veterans in red states and blue states. Eliminating the Department of Education will close neighborhood schools and raise property taxes in red states and blue states. […]
“Now is not the time to hand out trillions in tax breaks for billionaires. House Democrats want to cut taxes for working families. The American people deserve a little breathing room, but House Republicans are prioritizing their billionaire donors and friends and […] we are prepared to fight this with every tool in our toolbox.”
Rep. Boyle, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee:
“Donald Trump kept saying that ‘on day one’ he would automatically slash prices and lower costs. Well, here is their big budget resolution, the most important domestic document and plan that they will put forward this year. You can search through it from page one all the way through–you don’t see 1 word about lowering costs.
“What you do see instead is $4.5 trillion of tax cuts, most of which go to the richest 1% of Americans. And how do they pay for it? Well first, they cut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by $880 billion a year. They go on to cut food stamps by another several $100 billions of dollars.”
Rep. Casar, Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus:
“Today, House Republicans open up a new front in their war on working people. Let’s be clear: the budget Republicans will take up today is theft from working class Americans to hand our money over to the ultra rich. House Republicans will take health care and food from people who need it in order to give massive tax breaks to billionaires. In other words, Elon Musk will get richer and the people who work in his Tesla factories will get screwed. This is a Republican party of, by, and for the billionaires. House Republicans are working as employees of these billionaires, not as representatives of their district.”
Rep. Schneider, Chair of the New Democrat Coalition and House Ways & Means Member:
“What the Republicans are proposing in this budget is actually going to make life even harder on the American people. The headline is that House Republicans are doing the bidding of their puppet master, Elon Musk, proposing a plan that helps lower the cost [for] the billionaires like him, the people we saw sitting in the front row with inauguration, and makes life more expensive for hard-working families. […]
“The Republican plan slashes funding for Medicaid – health care which 1 in 3 Americans rely on for life-saving services. Low-income families, veterans, children all depend on [Medicaid]. On top of that, hospitals, health care centers, will be forced to lay off doctors and nurses and even our first responders, our fire departments will see a cut in their funding.”
Rep. Escobar, House Budget Committee Member:
“Here we are, today, as we begin our budget meeting in less than an hour and Republicans are going to make everyone’s lives even worse. And they’re doing that by literally taking away programs and benefits that improve people’s lives, that save people money, and they’re doing this so that they can make people like Elon Musk even richer.”
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Follow along with the Families Over Billionaires campaign at familiesoverbillionaires.org and across social media platforms, including X, Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky
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