U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) is accusing House Republicans of crafting a budget that favors the ultra-rich.
Tuesday’s version of the bill, which addressed border security and tax policy, was expected to be voted on by the House in the evening. It includes tax cuts of up to $4.5 trillion and plans to cut federal spending by $2 trillion.
Murphy joined the Progressive Caucus for a press conference on Tuesday morning. In his remarks, he said the proposed cuts would slash nearly $900 billion from Medicaid, which provides health care to one in five Americans.
“That means that sick kids die in this country,” Murphy said. “That means that hospitals in depressed communities, in rural communities close their doors. That means that drug and addiction treatment centers disappear.”
Why are Republicans making the cuts, according to Murphy?
“Because Elon Musk needs another billion dollars,” he said. “The scope of this greed is something that we have never, ever seen before in this country, and we should not accept it as normal in the United States of America.”
The House bill has support from President Donald Trump but not from all House Republicans — who have a slim majority and can only afford to lose a few votes.
The Senate has drafted a backup bill in case the House version fails. If they don’t pass something before March 14, the government will shut down.
