In Spotlight Forum, Durbin Exposes Republicans' Plan To Slash Funding For Medicaid, SNAP Benefits To Pay For Tax Cuts For Billionaires
In a spotlight forum on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Durbin slammed Republicans for proposing $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid, at least $200 billion in cuts to SNAP
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today participated in a spotlight forum entitled “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While the Mega Rich Profit.” The forum, which was hosted by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), focused on how the Republican tax bill funds massive tax breaks for the ultrawealthy by making the largest cuts in history to health care and food assistance programs that Americans rely on. During the hearing, Durbin questioned witnesses about Republicans’ false argument that SNAP and food assistance programs, which offers nutrition assistance to 42 million Americans, are riddled with fraud or waste, especially given the critical, but modest, average SNAP benefit of $6 per day.
“I asked my staff, ‘how does a person apply for SNAP, food stamps, in my home state of Illinois?’ They handed me a 19-page application. Nineteen page application for $6 a day. And the twentieth page is all the possible ways they can challenge what you put in the nineteen pages,” Durbin said.
Laura Lester, who serves as the CEO of Feeding Alabama, replied, “There is no more thorough program in terms of the application process, the verification process. It is complicated and hard to apply forand receive SNAP.”
“In some states, you just can’t file one of these forms and then walk away from it. You have to renew the filing on a regular basis to prove you are continuing to meet the work requirements. Has that been your experience?” Durbin asked Ms. Lester.
Ms. Lester explained that able-bodied adults without dependents must regularly provide updates about their work status in order to continue receiving benefits.
“So we’re taking people who are struggling who have limited income… And we’re telling them, fill out this form and be prepared to renew it on a regular basis to avoid the possibility that somebody is trying to game the system and get $6 a day. Is that it?” Durbin asked, underscoring the existing rigorous application process for families who need a helping hand to put food on the table.
Ms. Lester affirmed Durbin’s point, noting that SNAP’s qualification and intake process is so thorough that it is used to screen applications for other programs.
Durbin then focused his questioning on Republicans’ claim that their reconciliation bill is simply a continuation of the tax cuts from President Trump’s first term.
“The Republicans are arguing we’re just continuing the tax cuts from Trump’s first term in office. Is that true?” Durbin asked Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).
Ms. Hanauer explained that the Republicans’ reconciliation bill not only includes extensions of tax cuts that primarily support wealthy Americans, but it also creates new tax breaks for billionaires. Ms. Hanauer pointed out that extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts is extremely costly and will increase the national deficit while depriving the federal government from its ability to fund critical social programs like SNAP and Medicaid.
Durbin emphasized that President Trump added more to the national debt than any president in history, and if this legislation is passed, he will surpass his own record by adding $2.8 trillion to the national deficit over the next 10 years. “And because of that, we could get into something called sequestration, which says your budget’s too far out of balance. And as a result of that, there could be cutbacks in Medicare. Is that a possibility?” Durbin asked Ms. Hanauer.
“It is certainly a possibility,” Ms. Hanauer replied.
“So the promise to never touch Medicare is broken in this bargain as well?” Durbin asked.
Ms. Hanauer agreed.
Video of Durbin’s remarks is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks is available here.
Both the Senate and House versions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act include hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the ultrawealthy paid by cutting hundreds of billions to programs, including $200 billion in cuts to SNAP in the Senate version of the bill while the House version would slash $300 billion in SNAP funding, that will result in loss of health care coverage and nutrition assistance for millions of Americans. Under the Republican plan, people earning $40,000 a year will see an average tax decrease of $442 per year while people making more than $1 million will see their taxes go down by $79,000 per year. The Congressional Budget Office’s latest analysis found that the lowest-income households in the U.S. would lose $1,600 a year in federal resources while the highest-income households would see a $12,000 annual boost from tax cuts paid for by slashing Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
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