Deluzio: “Hardworking Western Pennsylvanians Need Healthcare More Than Billionaires Need Tax Giveaways”
Outside of a Local Nursing Home, Homecare Worker & Mom Whose Kids with Disabilities Rely on Medicaid Joined Congressman in Slamming Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill”
HARMAR TOWNSHIP, PA – Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) spoke out against Donald Trump’s and Congressional Republicans’ “Big Ugly Bill” that will hurt Western Pennsylvania. Deluzio emphasized how it slashes healthcare for millions of hardworking Americans while giving tax handouts to the ultra rich—calling it “class warfare” and “fiscally reckless.”
Congressman Deluzio held his event outside of a local nursing home in Harmar Township. This is a sector where people count on Medicaid funding to pay for nursing home care for their loved ones, and businesses count on it as a revenue stream to fund their nursing home services and keep the doors open. At the press conference, a healthcare worker and a Pennsylvania mother whose kids rely on Medicaid shared their stories of how Medicaid is a lifeline for them that is now at risk.
“I was elected to do everything I can to make life better and less of a rip-off for my constituents. That’s exactly why I voted against this dangerous and unpopular bill that will rip away healthcare from hardworking Americans to pay for fiscally reckless tax giveaways to the richest and most powerful corporations and people to have ever walked our planet. Hardworking Western Pennsylvanians need healthcare more than billionaires need tax giveaways,” said Congressman Deluzio. “D.C. Republicans talk a lot about class warfare: they’re waging it against working class Americans.”
“I’m an Independent who voted for Trump, but these Medicaid cuts are a direct attack on the health of my family and my community,” said Denise Siters, a home care worker who lives in Beaver Falls. “I quit my job to become a full-time home care worker for my son David, who has schizoaffective disorder, autism and other health issues. His care is funded through Medicaid, and he also receives food support through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Medicaid and SNAP cuts will put his life in danger and make it much harder for us just to get by. I am terrified about my son’s future. The fact that Pennsylvania Senator McCormick and nine of our Republican Congress members voted to sell out our healthcare just to fund huge tax giveaways to billionaires is sickening, it’s disgusting.”
"Medicaid is health coverage. But it is also so much more. Medicaid sustains our struggling hospitals, reduces levels of uncompensated care, and keeps insurance rates lower for everyone. Medicaid helps small businesses by covering low wage workers and ensuring that the local community is economically strong enough to support their local businesses,” said Erin Gabriel, Government Affairs Representative with the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, and the mother of children with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for care. “Ultimately, Medicaid means families like mine can stay together, seniors like my parents can age in place with the people they love, and people with disabilities can participate in their communities and live their lives - just like every other American."
The “Big Ugly Bill”, which was signed into law by President Trump on July 4th, will:
- Lead to more than 483,000 Pennsylvanians and at least 17 million people nationwide losing health care coverage (Congressional Budget Office)
- Cause more than 20,000 people in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District to lose health care from a combination of Medicaid cuts and the bill’s phasing out of Affordable Care Act tax credits (Joint Economic Committee analysis on the initial House version)
- Likely force hundreds of rural hospitals across America to close, including five in Western PA. (Becker’s Hospital Review, WESA)
- Cause nearly 144,000 Pennsylvanians to lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (Governor Josh Shapiro)
- Cut SNAP food assistance for more than 6,000 residents in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District (Governor Josh Shapiro)
- Increase the deficit by $3.4 trillion (House Budget Committee)
- Raise the debt limit by $5 trillion (House Budget Committee)
Congressman Deluzio will continue to fight back against the efforts of this Administration and Congressional Republicans to hurt the hardworking people of Western PA.
Photos from the event are available here. Video/audio is available upon request.
###