Here's what Pennsylvania lawmakers are saying about Trump's "big, beautiful bill"
Debate on President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" continues Wednesday in the House of Representatives, where one Pittsburgh-area congressman is raising alarms.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio says the bill would kick thousands of people in his district off Medicaid, close rural hospitals in western Pennsylvania and balloon the deficit — all while giving huge tax breaks to the nation's wealthiest.
With a version having passed the Senate, the bill is back in the House. But it can't go to the president's desk for a signature until both chambers agree on a final version. On Tuesday, Pennsylvania's senators voted along party lines.
Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman voted against it. But citing the need for stepped-up border security, increased defense spending and less environmental constraints on energy production, Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick voted for it, issuing this statement:
"No bill is perfect, but these provisions will make a real difference in the lives of people working hard to make ends meet and raise their families across the Commonwealth. I also believe that the historic investments in the border, law enforcement, and defense will benefit all Pennsylvanians in the coming years, as will the important provisions that will unleash Pennsylvania energy."
But Deluzio vowed to fight it.
"I'm going to vote against this terrible Republican bill that will take away health care for millions of Americans, jacking up the debt in the order of trillions of dollars, all to pay for tax giveaways to some of the richest, most powerful people and corporations in the history of planet Earth," Deluzio said. "I think this is reckless, it's cruel."
Deluzio says new rules on Medicaid would result in 500,000 Pennsylvanians losing benefits, including 22,000 in his district alone. He says the cuts could close as many as five rural hospitals in western Pennsylvania, and additional tax cuts would balloon the deficit by $3 billion to $4 trillion.
"That's something that my kids and generations to come will all be paying for, again to help finance reckless tax cuts to the top," Deluzio said.
But supporters like Republican Congressman Mike Kelly argue that sparking new economic growth would offset those predicted deficits and that working-class people would benefit from provisions like no taxes on tips and overtime.
"This legislation will strengthen working families and small businesses in Pennsylvania and across the United States," Kelly said in a statement to KDKA.
Despite the objections of Democrats like Deluzio, the future of the bill is in Republican hands. They are in the majority in both chambers and must agree on what parts get cut and what stays in.
