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WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Paul D. Tonko released the following statement on the House passage of President Trump’s budget, the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” that exacts the largest cut to health care and food assistance in American history, all to bring massive tax breaks to the wealthiest 0.1 percent.

“This bill will go down as one of the most egregious betrayals of the American public in history. At a time when we should be celebrating the birth of our nation and a celebration of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the President and rubber-stamp Republicans have condemned millions to a harder, less free, less joyous life.

“Republicans spent these past few weeks hemming and hawing about this legislation: from the devastating cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, to the eradication of countless manufacturing and clean energy jobs, to the massive increase in our debt. But after that whining, they went ahead and voted to pass all those disastrous provisions anyway.

“Republicans had one job: to vote no on a bill that their constituents don’t like, that hospitals don’t like, that businesses don’t like, that unions don’t like, that they themselves don’t like. Instead, they voted yes all to appease one man.

“It’s clear that Republicans would rather lie about the contents and consequences of this bill and bow down to wannabe king Donald Trump than protect the lives and livelihoods of their constituents. Regardless of what they believe, they are still beholden to their constituents and the American people. When they go home to their districts, they’ll have to explain why they voted to make more people slide into poverty, more kids go to bed hungry, and more patients die without the care they need.”